Let's Fall in Love
by Anonymoo
Summary: Sakura knew she what she was doing. And so did he. But neither of them had a clue of what was going to happen after that one night. NaruSaku
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is going to be a mature read. Eventually there will be graphic scenes. So you kiddies be warned.**

***Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto.**

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"_SAKURA-CHAN!!!!" Naruto's voice was blood curdling as his hand snapped out in a futile attempt to save her. His deep crystal blue eyes were filled with fear; something she had never seen in him before. His chakra focused all into the soles of his feet but he wouldn't be able to do that for long- he was too worn out from the battle. Sakura threw her hand up and their palms grazed each other. A small flicker of hope- maybe, just maybe! But the hand on her ankle furiously ripped her away. The last thing engraved in her mind was Naruto's eyes-so pure and blue like the color of the sky after a storm. Sasuke pulled her down into the cavern, towards her inevitable demise._

Sakura snapped up in bed covered in a thick film of sweat, awakening violently from the nightmare. She had been having these horrible dreams for the past three months, all varying in settings- and all of them surrounding the same topic: _her death_.

Sakura slowed her breathing down, hoping that her fits didn't wake her neighbor. Her apartment was of a middle class modern architecture, but the walls weren't exactly sound proof. So she would need to keep her voice down…no matter how much she wanted to scream. Her heart gradually slowed its pace down to a steady beat and Sakura wiped her sweaty brow. She sighed to find that her sheets-and her clothes- were once again soaked in her sweat. Frustrated and still horribly tired, she bundled the sheets into a soggy cotton mess.

"I can't keep this up."

She quickly changed her sleepwear and a groan escaped from her mouth as she threw her sheets and clothes onto the empty line dangling outside from her window- the usual routine these past few months. Thankfully there was a strong wind blowing through Konoha tonight.

This was almost as embarrassing as when she used to wet her bed sheets when she was seven. The kunoichi still got crap about it from the stupid Ino-pig every now and then even though she and her friends were well past childhood (Sakura would be turning twenty in the next few months). Now that she had thought about it, the only one that would stick up for her whenever Ino (or anyone for that matter) brought that up was -and still is- Naruto. He would have just smiled his wide boyish grin and said, _"That's alright, Sakura-chan!" _

"SAKURA-CHAN!!!" She snapped up from her thoughts, her head hitting the top of the window. She held in her scream by clamping her teeth on her tongue. The familiar metallic flavor of her blood invaded her taste buds, leaving an unpleasant, tangy residue. She looked out of her window to see Naruto looking up at her with the most quizzical look.

"_Ne_, Sakura-chan? What are you doing up so early?" Sakura clenched her fist tightly, restraining herself from punching another hole into her apartment. Her Super already wasn't too keen on having a shinobi like her living in his apartments, but she was a stable resident and no one in their right mind would pass up a reliable income. Though, she couldn't blame him for being wary about having a shinobi as a resident. They weren't usually as reliable with payments as Sakura was; considering they would be gone for months at a time on missions- and sometimes not get a mission for weeks on end. But with Sakura working at the hospital, she could count on a steady income. And being a jounin didn't hurt, either.

"I could ask you the same question." She muttered, pulling on the clothesline so her garments caught the strongest part of the wind. She looked to the clock to see the time: 1:30 AM. Seemed to be that these nightmares were waking her up earlier and earlier… her characteristic emerald eyes looked back down at Naruto and Sakura sighed. "I couldn't sleep." she couldn't tell him about her dreams, he wouldn't understand- _kami_, Sakura couldn't understand herself! In her dreams, it wasn't always the Uchiha bringing about her demise but he had been quite a bit of a main character in the past few weeks.

_Sasuke…_

The Uchiha had stumbled through the gates of Konoha with wounds cascading all around his body. Even though he was in such critical condition, Sakura would never forget that smile of pure relief. It shocked her to see the self-proclaimed avenger act so child-like. Even when they were younger, he would never have shown such adolescent-like happiness.

It took a month for all of his wounds to heal, and he always had a close eye kept on him by the Hokage and her apprentice. Finally, he told his old teammates during one of their regular visits that he killed his brother-and that it was the most wonderful and the worst moment of his life. He's said little since then. But it's not like he spoke that much to Sakura anyway…

The Uchiha had since become a Chuunin, but Tsunade-shissou was extremely reluctant to let him advance to Jounin despite his obvious skills. He had never said one word of defiance-in fact, to Sakura's surprise, her teammate just continued with his rigorous training. It seemed she wasn't the only one that Naruto had affected over the years with his incessant willpower.

It was amazing to Sakura that her feelings for the Uchiha had waned through the years. Sure there were those small moments where she would catch herself looking at Sasuke, thinking "What if..?"; but then reality would come smacking her in the face. It was only too obvious that he would not love her the way she wanted to be loved. And over the past several years, she learned to stop liking him and was learning to love herself first.

Sakura blinked away her thoughts and looked to the Uzumaki to see a smile curve his lips, his eyes smoothing under the moonlight as if in knowing. In the past 8 years, Naruto had grown- as a shinobi (jounin since last year, alongside her) and as a man. He of course still had his moments-moments that make Sakura want to punch him in his frontal lobes, but for some reason, that just made him much more fun to be around. Naruto matured greatly thanks to his years of training with Jiraiya and his daily training that even rivaled that of his dark haired friend. Sakura would spar with him every Friday and it was thanks to him that she passed her jounin exam. If he hadn't given her pointers-she'd still be Chuunin. Sakura's eyes scanned Naruto's body, taking in his tall frame and lean muscles. Sometimes…to Sakura's surprise- when they were resting after their training together, she would catch herself staring at Naruto's body. She didn't know what to make of it! Maybe because he and Sasuke were the only guys her age she was around all the time. But she never really stared at Sasuke like she would Naruto because the Uchiha would catch her and call her on it. So either Naruto didn't notice, or didn't care.

It wasn't as if Sakura hadn't seen a naked man before. She was a medic-nin, so of course she was familiar with the anatomy of the human body. But that was for science. She had never, in all of her life…touched a man _that _way before. It made her blush just thinking about it. Sure she had been kissed before-once or twice, and neither of them memorable, but she was still a virgin. And it seemed her friend Ino would never let that go-

"_Sakura, tonight, we're going to get you laid."_

"_Ino, please stop it. I don't want to have sex with some drunken man I don't even know-"_

"_Well then let's grab some man you do know."_

"_Ino!"_

"_Sakura, you need to stop holding onto your damn virginity like it's a precious flower. Believe me, once you get it over with you'll be cursing yourself blue that you've waited so long. Hey how about Genma? He'll do anything with tits and a-"_

"_INO!"_

"_Okay, okay. How about….Neji? No…Ten-ten would kill you. Lee? Ugh. I would never forgive you. Hmm…if not Sasuke, then… Oh! How about Naruto?"_

"_What?"_

"_Yeah! That's perfect! I'm only too sure that he's still a virgin. God knows he's still head over heels for you. It's only perfect to do it with him!"_

"_Ino, you know I don't like him that way."_

"_Are you sure about that, billboard brow?"_

"_Wh-what are you talking about, Ino-pig? Of course I-"_

"_I don't think you even notice yourself…"_

Sakura shook her head of the disturbing memory and looked back to the Uzumaki.

"Do you want to come with me?" Naruto said simply, ignoring the fact that they were both awake at an insane hour.

"Naruto…" the kunoichi contemplated his words-she had work at 6 and from the looks of last night, it was going to be another 18 hour shift. But she wasn't going back to sleep at this rate anyway-tired or not. "Okay."

The smile that came across his face could only be described as pure happiness. The pink haired woman smiled as she jumped out of her apartment window and landed softly onto the ground next to him. "So why are you out so late, Naruto?...Naruto? What is it?" the orange and black clad shinobi looked stunned. What was he looking at?

"Sakura-chan…your clothes…" the lightest shade of pink colored Naruto's cheeks forced Sakura took a look at herself. She had on a tank top with thin straps, and a pair of- oh _kami_. She looked back up to see the tiniest start of a nosebleed on her friends face and instantly she reacted. With a swift punch to the blonde's cranium, Sakura growled "Pervert!" and jumped back through her window. She raced to her dresser, yanking open one of the drawers and pulling out a pair of sweats.

Usually when Sakura got home she was too tired to take a shower, so she would strip her clothes down to her underwear and just sleep in them, leaving the shower till the morning. She never had an incident like this before because she was generally lucid enough to put some pants on. But with those dreams running through her mind, it was hard to concentrate in most situations lately. Thanks to her absentmindedness, Naruto just got a poster shot of her rather scantily designed panties; black lace with roses all along the sides-a gift from Ino.

"_Make good use of those, billboard brow. Those babies are not for only you to look at." _

Sakura fought down a blush as she met back up with Naruto, who thankfully had regained his composure, but had a somewhat sheepish look on his face.

"_Gomennesai._" he cleared his throat and began to walk down the street, saying nothing else about what happened. Sakura followed along, thankful for his ability to move on from one topic to another. While she kept her eyes on the ground, Naruto's blue orbs drew upwards. He lifted his arms and rested them behind his head in a gesture very similar to their old sensei, Kakashi. Sakura smiled lightly about the traits Naruto picked up over the years. It was amazing how strong both he and Sasuke have become. While Sakura herself had turned into quite the elite ninja, she knew that when in a fight against either of the two, she would lose. She wished that she could surpass them. And even with Sasuke legally as a Chuunin, there was no doubt that his level was Jounin status-ranking to that of ANBU. But there was no way Tsunade-shissou would allow that. Not after what he did to the village. He nearly killed Naruto and Sakura in battle-

"So why are you out here?" she broke the silence between them in an attempt to snap her mind away from her thoughts. She knew they would eventually lead her back to her nightmares of death.

"Couldn't sleep" Sakura nodded softly at his answer but pondered his real reason for being out here. Naruto was the heavy sleeping kind of shinobi, unless something provoked him to get up. Like someone's death…or ramen. But nothing else short of that could really make him wake up.

As if on psychic cue-"Do you wanna grab some ramen?"

"Is Ichiraku open this late?"

"They're open till 5 in the morning on Fridays. People from the bars drink late and eat late." leave it to Naruto to memorize the hours for his favorite ramen shop. He probably can draw an exact blue print replica of the establishment having been there so many times.

Sakura nodded in agreement and a wide toothy grin sprouted on the shinobi's face.

"ALRIGHT!" he grabbed Sakura's hand and hauled her off to Ichiraku.

* * *

"Have you seen Kakashi-sensei, lately?" Sakura sipped idly from her cup of green tea, her thoughts straying to her former sensei. Last time she saw him was at the local bar during her birthday.

"I heard that he's on an A-rank mission escorting some spoiled son of a bitch politician." Sakura nodded. Of course…The jounin never liked hanging around for long, doing nothing.

"Come on, baby, let's stop and get something to eat" a voice barked from behind the two ninja. Sakura felt her skin ripple in annoyance of the disturbance. The lack of manners today irked her to no end. The man entered and took a seat next to Sakura, gesturing to his companion to take a seat beside him at the open air restaurant. Sakura looked away from the man and focused on her drink, hoping he would eat quickly and leave.

"OY! Teuchi! Two bowls of your pork ramen!" the disgusting man belched and Sakura opened her mouth to yell at him, but she froze.

"Hey, billboard brow! What are you doin' here?" Ino walked towards her, stumbling along the way. Thankfully she caught herself on the bar top. "Whoops. I guessh-I-should be more caaaarrrrefuuuuulllll! Hehehehehe!" she was plastered, that enough was evident to Sakura. And from the looks of things, this guy was on his way to getting laid by her infamously raunchy friend.

Sakura was confused because as far as she knew, her friend was engaged to Shikamaru. Why would she be out drinking alone looking to sleep with someone? Something must have happened. Sakura rolled her eyes; Ino and Shikamaru probably had a fight and Ino went to go piss him off. The kunoichi had to stop this- if Ino had her any shred of her reasoning in her, there wouldn't be a chance in hell she'd sleep with this scumbag. If Sakura knew anything about her best friend, she knew that she loved that lazy genius of a shinobi.

"Ino, what are you doing? Do you know this guy?" Sakura tested the waters, figuring just how lucid she was.

"Sakura, don't be silly- I don't row pie!"

"Ino…" Naruto, finally taking a breath from his ramen, caught on to what was happening. "Maybe you should sit down over here." Naruto stood, and gestured for their friend to take a seat. The kunoichi however shook her head in a drunken defiance.

"No, no." Ino took a step towards her male companion. "I'm perfectly-AGH!" she stumbled and in a flash Sakura caught her. The pink haired woman lifted her friend and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, supporting most of her weight.

"Let's get you home, Pig. You're gone."

"Now wait a minute, Pinky!"

_Pinky?_ Sakura turned around to see the scumbag of a drunkard glaring two bloodshot eyes directly at her. The man stood and pointed a thick finger inches from her nose. "Who said you could take my woman away from me?"

"Your woman? She's not your _property_. Besides, she's engaged." the kunoichi could feel her anger building up in her. Her hands were dangerously itching to punch this guy to kingdom come.

"She said nothing 'bout-"

"Hey, man. She's obviously not going to sleep with you." Naruto could sense Sakura's fury and was quick to step in between the two.

"I spent half my paycheck on her drinks. She owes me a good time."

"It's not her fault you're an idiot." Sakura's voice wavered in her straining calm- she was doing everything in her power to quell her rage. But this man was just fanning the flames. The man took a good hard look at Sakura and his eyes dropped down to her chest. A disgusting smile came across his face. "Well would _you_ like to show me a good time, cherry?"

A loud crack sounded as Naruto's fist connected with the man's jaw. His body flew out of the restaurant and into the street, landing with a satisfying thump. Sakura looked to Naruto and saw his eyes locked onto the man, his lips pulled back in a snarl. The filthy drunk stumbled onto his knees and looked back to the ramen bar in confusion and anger, "Who the-!" in a blur of orange and black, Naruto rushed after the man and picked him up by the collar roughly. "_Never_ talk to Sakura-chan like that. _**Ever**_." his normally cheerful face darkened. "Do you understand me?"

A look of pure fear came over the man's face as he looked over to Sakura, but Naruto shook him. His hold on his greasy shirt becoming tighter and his words shot through his clenched jaw, "Don't even _look_ at her." The man nodded with a shaky head and the Uzumaki threw him to the ground. Sakura stood where she was, in a daze. She watched Naruto walk calmly back towards her and offer to help support Ino. Sakura nodded and he lifted the other limp arm about his broad shoulders and the three (well, two, seeing as one was incapacitated) walked off.

* * *

They took Ino back to her apartment not too far from the ramen shop. Sakura was relieved at that moment that Shikamaru and Ino didn't live together; otherwise it would've been a much more complicated situation. After she laid Ino onto her bed, Sakura placed a glass of water and two aspirin tablets on her bedside table for her friend to consume when she would wake. She was going to have one hell of a hangover the next day. Sakura shook her head and left her friend to her sleep. Thankfully, Ino-pig didn't damage anything other than her pride-Sakura gave her a quick check through. Ino should be thankful to have a medic-nin for a best friend.

Outside, Naruto waited patiently, a calm look on his face. He looked up and smiled widely at Sakura once she stepped out of Ino's apartment. "Do you think Shikamaru will be mad?"

The pink haired woman took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. As much as he puts up a disinterested front, he really does care about her. She could pretty much get away with murder if Shikamaru had any say in it." A silence spread between the two. Sakura moved to take a spot next to Naruto, sitting atop the railing of the porch. Ino lived on the third floor, and to her right, the kunoichi could see Ichiraku with its lights still buzzing with life and drunk customers. Sakura looked over to Naruto. "Why did you do that, baka?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side and a confused look came across his tanned face. "Do what?"

"You know very damn well what I'm talking about." her lingering anger was piling up once more because of his stupidity. He was infuriatingly dense.

"I was only defending you, Sakura-chan. That guy was a complete bastard." his sincerity broke through Sakura and she sighed in defeat. Naruto made it so hard to be angry at him sometimes. Of course there were times she wanted to rip his throat out…but it just seemed like Naruto knew how to push the right buttons to piss her off or to make her calm. She could swear that he did it on purpose.

"Sakura-chan, you've changed a lot these past few years, you know?" Sakura looked to him and saw that his blue eyes were concentrated on her. He looked so serious that she found herself flustered. She looked away and shrugged.

"Yeah." she laughed. "I can't leave all the growing to you and Sasuke. I need to boost up a few levels too." her face saddened at the thought of always being behind the two. She had worked so hard these past 8 years to even be at the same level as those two-but sometimes it seemed like she would never be on par with the Uchiha or the Uzumaki.

"I better get back to my home, Naruto."

"Nani? Sakura-chan, you want to leave?" he was about to protest, but thought better of it. "Let me walk you back home-" he stood; his tall, muscular frame towering over the kunoichi.

"No need. I'm not a little girl anymore, baka. I can take care of myself." she didn't put too much emotion into it, but it was understood all the same: she just wasn't in the mood to be with someone at the moment. Naruto nodded, still unsure of what made her upset. He looked torn, but Sakura took off before he could change his mind.

She brushed her fingers through her cherry blossom locks, sighing. She needed to clear her mind before she went back to work or her distraction would have dangerous consequences. Maybe some running would help her clear her mind…But once she thought it over for a moment, the thought of going to another 18 hour shift after running for a few hours- it didn't seem too appealing. So the kunoichi decided to settle for meditation.

* * *

"Haruno! You're needed in the maternity ward!"

Sakura was surprised. She expected a long busy day rushing between the E.R. and O.R. but she hadn't stepped into either today. Instead, she had been changing from the Nursery to the Maternity ward. Looks like she would be leaving early today if this was all she was going to do.

"I'm on my way-" she motioned to the intern next to her to take over changing the infant who lied upon the diaper station in front of her. The young man looked from the baby to Sakura and promptly turned green. Sakura rolled her eyes, quickly changing the infant and handing him to the intern, "This is the least of your problems, Kyou. Just stick around and you'll get used to the scent. It's not so bad after a few weeks."

"Yes Haruno-san." he muttered in shame.

And with that, the medic-nin took off in a rush to the maternity ward.

"Sakura!" Shizune walked briskly to Sakura's side and handed her a clipboard, "You have a patient in room 304B. And afterward," the dark haired woman paused, thinking over her next words. "Tsunade-sama wants to see you. Come to her office right after you finish with this patient." the pink haired medic-nin cocked an eyebrow and nodded. She wondered what Tsunade-shissou wanted with her now?

Sakura opened the door to 304B and was met with a rosy face and pale eyes.

"H-hello, Sakura-chan."

"Hinata!"

The dark haired kunoichi smiled shyly while she placed her hands gently upon her blooming stomach. It was only last year that the Hyuuga girl was married to none other than her team mate Kiba, and not too long after, was expecting.

"What a surprise to see you here! Where is Kiba? Isn't he usually with you during anything related to the baby?" it was absolutely romantic to Sakura that the Inuzuka followed Hinata like a puppy whenever she needed him. She couldn't blame him. In their profession, people die young and it was usual to get married and have children at their age. Even Sakura, still a blushing virgin, found herself from time to time just watching the babies in the Nursery. Just wondering what the future will bring her; a husband…children…and a family? Suddenly her mind darkened with the images from her nightmares of the previous months; blood spilling, screams ripping through her skin, and her body lying still and cold. If those were anything close to premonitions…

_No. Not now._

Sakura placed the clipboard onto the counter beside her and embraced the Hyuuga girl in a tight hug. It had been a while since she had seen her-_ kami_, it had been a while since she had seen anyone besides Naruto and Ino because of her erratic hours at the hospital. It was nice to have a social life every now and then.

"W-well, h-he's with Naruto-kun outside, actually. I-I told him to stay outside. I wanted to see you." Hinata fiddled with her long violet hair and looked down at her shoes-a habit that the Hyuuga still had trouble breaking.

"Naruto's here?" Sakura smiled, picturing the orange clad shinobi joking loudly in front of the hospital with his friend. She inwardly rolled her eyes and led Hinata to the long cushioned seat for patients, motioning for her to sit. The woman complied and nodded in answer.

"He's supposed to meet the Hokage soon." Sakura's eyes slightly widened. So Tsunade-shissou called for the both of them. Something must be up.

"Alright," Sakura concentrated her mind once more. "How have you been feeling?"

"Better. Those exercises that you taught me are really helping with my back pain and swelling feet. I just wanted to see how the twins were doing…I-I'm in the third trimester already, and I want to make sure they're all right."

"I'm sure they're doing fine with a caring mom like you." Sakura smiled. "Let's just lean you back and check on the three of you, then." Sakura turned around and picked up her basic tools for the procedure and she worked through the check-up, all of this like breathing to her now. She enjoyed her job so much, helping people in all stages of their life. So many of her friends have moved into the marital phase of their life that she felt like she was twelve again, walking behind Naruto and Sasuke; watching them rise to their potential. She was the bud of a flower again while everyone else was in full bloom. Sakura sighed, pushing her thoughts away.

* * *

"Sakura-chan! I guess Tsunade-baa-chan wants to see all three of us, huh?"

Three? Sakura looked behind Naruto to see the dark haired Uchiha leaning against the wall of the entrance to Tsunade-shissou's office. This must be a mission then, Sakura thought to herself. Well it would be a nice change of scenery. She hadn't had a mission for a good three months, and every now and then her body would itch with the sense of wanderlust.

"Hey, teme, this should be a good change of pace, right? What do you think we're gonna do? Do you think we'll be going anywhere interesting? I hope it's past the border." Naruto gasped. "Maybe we're going on a secret mission to retrieve a jewel from some drug lord in the Bear country!"

"Calm down, dobe. You're imagination will kill you." Sasuke walked towards Sakura and Naruto, his dark eyes roaming disinterestedly over the pair.

Suddenly the doors to Tsunade-shissou's office opened, and a frustrated looking Shizune stood to the side of the entrance. "You three- come in now."

_Oh no…_ Sakura looked from Naruto to Sasuke; both took in the assistant's appearance, but did not let it get to them. Sakura walked in, side by side with the two and stood before a grim looking Hokage.

"Close the door, Shizune." the blonde haired head ninja spoke in a firm voice. There was a silence that elapsed in the room, covering Sakura's ears almost painfully.

"I wanted this to seem like a normal meeting, so as not to bring any special attention to it. You three are here for one reason and one reason only." it was at that moment Tsunade-sama took a pause to look between the three of them, her brown eyes sharpening when they rested on Sasuke.

"Protection" her face darkened as she pulled out a scroll and handed it to Naruto. "You are to get to your destination as fast as you can, as quietly as you can, and come back-_successfully_. I will not go into any further details; you are to memorize that scroll and burn it. You leave in two hours." she sat down in her seat and took out a large dark bottle and a small glass. Sakura could already sense what was coming, so she bowed immediately and motioned for her team mates to follow. Tsunade was in one hell of a mood, and she was about to drink her weight in sake. The kunoichi cringed at the memories of when her teacher would become much more aggressive during their training due to her drunken state.

* * *

Sakura stood next to Naruto with Sasuke on his other side. All three were staring in disbelief at the scroll.

Naruto rolled the scroll back up and threw it against the nearest tree. "I don't get it. What's so top secret about this crap?"

"Hn." Sasuke growled through his clamped teeth, and Sakura inwardly groaned. It seemed to be that Tsunade-shissou had lost another bet and the price was to escort a caravan to the port near the border between Fire and River Country…a simple mission that could be done by genin ninjas. But apparently they requested jounin level shinobi. Their goods were apparently of great importance to them. But all that was written on the caravan list were some flowers.

"Well…" Sakura picked up the discarded scroll and looked at its contents once more. "At least we get to see the ocean." she sighed in defeat. There was no other way to look at this except a wasted of a mission on high leveled ninja. What was Tsunade-shissou thinking?!

"Hey- you're right, Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly brightened and instantly that familiar toothy grin appeared on his face. "We could stay a little bit longer there. She didn't say anything about coming back quickly. Just get there and come back successfully."

Holy crap.

"For once, dobe, you're right." Sasuke smirked as Naruto glared at Sasuke at the nickname he dubbed to his friend.

_A vacation, eh? _Sakura smiled lightly. She would love to have some vacation time for once. And from the looks of this mission, it was going to be a piece of cake. And she gets to spend her time with her teammates. What better way to get rid of the stress from work and her sleepless nights then going to the beach? Sakura smiled happily knowing that this might be the start of a happier chapter.

* * *

"Hello, my name is Tama Nakamura; I hope we will get along during this journey together."

Sakura shouldn't be angry. She should be calm, happy, and all those blissful emotions should be filling her during this simple mission. But…

_Naruto could at least close his goddamn mouth!_

Although Sasuke was a little more discrete about it, it was clear that both men were staring at their new traveling companion: Tama; a beautiful woman of 23, with dark hair, dark, sultry eyes, and a body that Sakura would kill for. Sakura was by no means flat (anymore, thankfully. She was a late bloomer) with her C-cup sized chest and what she thought were obvious curves. But compared to this woman, she was as flat as a board. Tama had more curves than that of Tsunade-shissou, for kami's sake. And she obviously had no problem with flaunting what she had. She wore a black halter that stopped quite a few inches above her navel, and long, black skirt with two slits that reached all the way up her legs.

"Hello, Tama. I'm Sakura, and these two are Sasuke and Naruto." Sakura kept her anger at bay. There was no reason to be mad at their charge-she had done nothing to them. However, once Tama was to turn around, the kunoichi would let her fists fly towards her teammates and give them a real reason to have their noses bleed.

"Sakura, is it?" Tama's dark eyes scanned Sakura's body, instantly making her feel self conscious. The pink haired woman sighed and reassured herself that she was the experienced ninja here, and that there was no reason to feel inferior to this other woman. Even if she had made her two male teammates' jaws drop and noses gush with blood.

"You're very beautiful." Tama approached Sakura and touched her shoulder length locks lightly, "Interesting hair color. It is natural, no?" Sakura could feel both gazes from her teammates on her and she instantly wanted to punch them. She never felt so aggravated over something so trivial. She was acting the part of a jealous girlfriend and it was absolutely ridiculous.

"Shouldn't we get going?" Sakura felt slightly uncomfortable with the woman touching her so freely.

"Yes. I supposed we should." Tama turned around and led the three shinobi towards the wagon that they would be guarding. When the woman moved, the chain of miniature cymbals around her hips made a light ringing throughout the air, drawing attention to the lower half of her body. Sakura took the chance to stomp harshly on both of her comrades' feet. They winced in pain and took the not so subtle hint that their behavior was not acceptable.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. My father is ill and I am the only one able to read and write to do the transactions once at the port. This cargo really is important to my family, no matter how simple it may seem." the older woman walked towards the back of the cart and drew back the thin partition, revealing cases upon cases of foreign purple flowers, "My family and I make a living by selling the nectar of these flowers. They serve as a powerful potion. More specifically, it is used to attract the opposite sex."

"You sell love potions?" Sasuke seemed incredulous, almost mocking the woman.

"Yes," Tama seemed unfazed by the Uchiha's cynical tone. "My family is a part of a tribe of gypsies up North. We make most of our money in potions, fortune-telling, and belly-dancing." there was a sparkle in the woman's eye at the last part and a small smile appeared on her face. Sasuke grunted and Sakura noticed Naruto wipe his brow and laugh lightly in response. Sakura rolled her eyes at the pervert. It was no surprise with the student of Jiraiya… _Baka._

"Let's get going." Sakura wanted to get to the port as fast as humanly possible. It seemed that this so called "vacation" was going to be giving her more stress than a double shift at the hospital would.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for your reviews. I really do appreciate them! And this chapter really explains why it's mature. So kiddies be warned.**

***Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

"Ne, Sakura-chan! Look over here!" Naruto waved happily about 20 feet ahead of her, pointing wildly to a log on the ground. Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. There was an obvious change in the three shinobi once they left the village. They were all anxious to leave and go somewhere outside of Konoha. Even Sasuke had a slightly happier disposition- his eyes not so cynical every time they met another human being.

The sun had already made its way across the sky and was about to nestle behind the mountains that lied ahead of the travelers. The day's journey was by no means tiring, but they knew that they wouldn't be able to guide the oxen driven cart for too longer. The animals were going to need their rest.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura kept her pace with the wagon. This might be a simple mission, but it was a mission nonetheless. They were to protect Tama and her cargo, and Sakura would give it one hundred and fifty percent.

The Uzumaki ran over, his hand clutching something Sakura couldn't make out. As soon as he reached her, he held out his hand and opened it to reveal a black and orange snake that sinuously wrapped around the shinobi's fingers, its forked tongue flickering towards Sakura.

"We match, right?"

All of the air in Sakura's lungs shot of her mouth in one blow and her face paled to an astonishing white. Sakura wasn't scared of much, but snakes proudly took the top 5.

"GET THAT AWAY FROM ME, BAKA!!!" surprisingly she didn't hit Naruto, but she jumped clear across and over the wagon in one fluid jump. Her back arched as her body grazed the top of the wagon. She landed on her feet with a soft thud and her breath returned slowly yet surely. Snakes gave her the creeps ever since Orochimaru-

Suddenly the scene around her changed and her mind's eye rippled in a blur of colors. This felt wrong and all too familiar simultaneously.

_Sakura stood shaking. Her chakra was depleting rapidly. She wasn't going to last- not even for a minute more. Her green eyes scanned the empty meadow, but she couldn't see him-_

_Then the kunai came; pelting her every limb, covering her body in unbelievable pain. Her blood rained down onto the ground, softening the soil to a muddy mess below her._

"_Sakura" His voice called out of the open air._

"_Sakura…..Sakura!....Sakura!!"_

"SAKURA!"

The kunoichi stumbled and fell to her knees, her hands running vigorously over her body. What the hell was that? A nightmare? But she wasn't asleep- it was still day-time!

"Sakura, what's wrong with you?" Sasuke stood in front of her, his eyes scrutinizing her like she was slacking during this simple minded mission.

She stood straight to compose herself and looked to Sasuke. "Nothing. I'm fine. It was just…a snake Naruto showed me. I…don't like snakes." Sakura figured Sasuke could relate to something like that, considering his past. She herself didn't understand what was wrong with her and there was no reason to involve anyone else in something as childish as a nightmare. At least she hoped not.

The Uchiha said nothing more, but his eyes stayed on Sakura for longer than she would've liked. He slowed down, regaining his pace once he was behind the carriage. Sakura picked up her pace and walked beside their charge, Tama, who sat leading the oxen that hauled her cargo. The gypsy's eyes were set upon the pink haired woman, a curious look about them.

"What's wrong, Tama?"

There was a thoughtful pause before she spoke her next words. "How long have you been having your nightmares, Sakura?"

The kunoichi was taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

The woman took a deep breath and looked ahead. "We need to rest up ahead. There's a stream and a small clearing." she turned back to Sakura. 'I would like to speak with you more."

Sakura didn't know how to reply.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke took off to gather water from the stream that ran smoothly near their campsite, leaving Sakura at the will of the gypsy's inquiries.

"Sit there." Tama pulled a satchel from her wagon and pointed to the blanket laid out before the fire they built not long ago.

"Tama, this isn't appropriate-"

"You've been having these nightmares for…three months, yes?" the woman's cymbal belt chimed rhythmically as she led Sakura to the blanket and urged her to sit. All of a sudden, Sakura felt like the patient instead of the medic-nin. Tama opened the satchel and pulled out a dark violet silk drawstring bag and placed it in front of her, along with a jar of foreign looking powder.

"How did you know that?" Sakura's eyes were mesmerized as the gypsy's hands mellifluously moved about, opening the small violet bag and pouring its contents into her hands: stones.

"It's what I do. Just as you know how to gain the strength of 100 men, I too can gain certain abilities." Sakura's eyes widened with Tama's insightful words. "These are holy stones," she held out the smooth, dark pebbles to view. "They have been passed down through my family for centuries. They will help me see clearly how to guide you."

"You know how to get rid of my nightmares?"

She nodded. "A sprig of Thyme below your sleeping head and maybe a small stone of amethyst- but first you must see why you are having these dreams. Then and only then will you be able to extinguish the negative energy that's surrounding you." Sakura watched the woman take a deep breath and she tossed the rocks lightly into the air. Her eyes opened and at the same moment when the rocks connected with the ground, Tama scattered a pinch of the powder from the jar into the fire. The flames sparked into a brilliant white. The gypsy's eyes looked upon the stones and then to Sakura.

"There is a change of path in your life-something you've seen, but never ventured. Do not be afraid- this will be your pillar of strength." Her eyes darkened suddenly, "However, something evil is searching for you. Protect what is close to you at all costs-or all is lost." Tama closed her eyes and Sakura looked at the stones; how did she get all that from they way the rocks were laid out?

"That is all I can tell you. The dreams should stop in due time, but to quell your fears take these sprigs of Thyme and this amulet of amethyst. They will help ward off the nightmares and negative energies surrounding your dreams." Sakura took the dried flowers and the small pinkish rock from the woman and looked incredulously at her.

"Is that all?'

"The rest is up to you." the woman looked at the slightly disheveled pink haired girl and smiled lightly. "Here." she reached into her satchel and pulled out a small peach colored fruit. "Eat this. It will help you."

"How? With my dreams?"

"No…" her eyes sparkled. "…with the other situation."

"What other situation?-"

"SAKURA-CHAN!!! Is the food done yet?" Naruto ran up to two women and Sakura hastily put the objects into her pouch, praying he didn't see what happened. Sasuke followed behind and noted the stones that were laid out between them.

"Doing a reading?" He looked to their charge.

"I was rather inclined to do a reading for her." Sakura sighed inwardly. Tama wasn't going to say a word about what happened. Silently she thanked her, their eyes meeting knowingly.

"Hn."

"Here, Sakura-chan." Naruto handed Sakura a small cup of water and the kunoichi gratefully took it, consuming its contents quickly. She promptly got up and moved to serve the fish they caught from the stream.

"Dobe, there's only three cups. Go get another."

"Eh? But-" the blonde looked around to see that Sasuke didn't have a cup to drink from.

"I should have some cups in the back of my wagon if you wish me to get one." Tama made a move to get up, but Sakura stopped her.

"No, I'll get it. It's right in the back?" the woman nodded in response and Sakura made her way to the carriage. She pulled the partition back and reached into the dark wagon, feeling around for a cup. There were so many things back here, how did Tama find anything? Finally her fingers found a simple short brown mug and she pulled it out.

"Ne, hurry up, Sakura! Sasuke's getting cranky! You know how he gets when he's thirsty."

"Well maybe if teme here didn't forget how to count to four-"

"What did you say, bastard?" Naruto took a large bite out of his fish.

"Shut up! The both of you-hey, where did Tama go?" Sakura handed Sasuke his cup and looked around for the gypsy. Naruto looked the pink haired ninja, his mouth full of food. "Fee hent roo ta fring."

Strangely Sakura understood what he said. Tama probably went to wash. That sounded like a good idea.

"I'm going to go to the spring to bathe." she whipped her head to the two of them, her eyes sharpening. "If I even _smell_ one of you near the two of us, you'll lose a limb." Sasuke nodded, his eyes rolling as he took a drink from the mug Sakura got while Naruto's cheeks reddened. "Sakura-chan I wouldn't dare-" Sakura's glare intensified, stopping his protest.

"Okay, Sakura-chan."

* * *

"It's nice to be clean once in a while, am I right?" Tama rinsed her hair in the cool water. Sakura nodded, dunking her entire body into the water and opening her eyes to see some fish swim by. The river was so clean and fresh!

Sakura heard Tama's voice from above the surface and she stood to look at her.

"I'm sorry?" She inquired.

"Were you able to find the cup?" Tama stood at the edge of the water wrapped in her robe, running her fingers through her hair.

"Oh, yes. I got him some brown mug." Sakura got out from the river, drying herself off before she wrapped her thin, but well absorbing travel towel around her.

"Brown?" Sakura looked up to see Tama's dark eyes widened in shock.

"What, what's wrong?"

"Sakura, that mug wasn't-"

A loud rumble thundered through the small clearing, cutting off the older woman's voice.

"SAAAAAKUUUUUURAAAAA-CHAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!" Naruto raced through the trees towards the two girls, his eyes teary and his face pale. "SAKURA-CHAN! SAKURA-CHAN! SAAAAKUUUURAAAA-CHAAAAAAN!" Naruto's jacket was torn open, flying wildly about him.

Instantly Sakura grabbed her kunai and stood in front of Tama. If something was able to terrify Naruto to tears, it was going to be a serious danger to them both. She wanted to be ready-even if she was only in a towel she could at least put up one hell of a fight.

In one shocking move the Uzumaki pounced and wrapped his arms around Sakura in a vice-like grip, his head rubbing furiously into her chest. "Sakura-chan, make him stop!"

_What?_ And suddenly there he was. Sasuke was running full speed towards the three, his eyes focused clearly upon the orange clad shinobi.

"Naruto what did you do?" Sakura tried to push Naruto away but he was not letting her go. He moved his body though, so that he was standing behind her- making her a makeshift shield. Sasuke stopped a mere three feet from them, his eyes looking past Sakura and to his fearful friend. There was something different about the dark haired man. He was breathless, his chest sporadically rising and falling. And there was a different air about him.

"Na..ru..to…" his voice was husky and deeper than usual.

"Look, Sasuke, I don't know what Naruto did, but this isn't the time to fight."

"Um. They-hmph!- aren't fighting." Sakura looked to see Tama covering her mouth in a fit of laughter.

"What? What's going on?" the kunoichi was confused to no end.

"Sasuke-bastard all of sudden started tearing at my clothes and…and-!" Naruto's face went pale. "And he…I don't feel so good…"

"I tried to tell you, Sakura. That wasn't a mug- it was a motor for mixing. It seems to be…" Tama approached Sasuke in a few light steps and looked him in the eye. "…that Sasuke has drunk the love potion."

* * *

"Naruto, there's no need to do this. Sasuke already drank the antidote." Sakura pulled the blanket over her body, relishing in the warmth, but her comfort was soon lost as the Uzumaki plopped inches from her, pulling his own blanket over him.

"I don't want to take any chances, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, but inside she was grateful for the warmth from his body during this cold winter night. Sasuke already went to sleep, opting for outside the tent they had built, whereas Sakura and Naruto stayed inside the small shelter. Sakura rolled to her side and closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything but the warm body next to her, but now the only thing running through her head was how close he was. She tried to keep reminding herself that this was Naruto for kami's sake, but she couldn't help the race of her blood and the quickening of her heart. She yelled at herself silently for being affected by something as insignificant as this. She had slept next to these guys before but… something was different. Her mind was just so preoccupied with sex. She covered her face in shame that she was thinking about Naruto that way. She thought back to that moment Ino brought up her teammate as a possible lover.

"_Billboard brow, you don't even realize how your body reacts when he's around."_

"_What do you mean, Ino-pig?" Sakura knew damn well what she was talking about. For the past several months, her mind had been drifting to not so innocent thoughts about the Uzumaki, doing things with him she never dreamed that she would do. Sometimes she would have trouble with just a simple touch of a hand; her heart would pound, her skin would tingle, and the lower half of her body would feel as if it were on fire._

"_You're just lucky that he's so oblivious to everything. I swear, half the town is just waiting for you two to fuck already."_

"_INO! I…I don't…" Sakura didn't know how she felt about the Uzumaki anymore. Sometimes she thought she really could fall in love with him. But then there were those times when she thought she couldn't love anyone. Those were moments where she didn't even love herself._

She felt Naruto press his body closer to hers and she sat up in a snap. "Naruto! You don't need to get so damn close to me."

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan. But you seemed cold… and so was I. So I thought that-"

"Well, there's no need, baka. I'm perfectly fine with my blanket alone." Sakura lied back down and grabbed her pouch, quickly placing the sprigs of Thyme under her pillow. She hoped that these things would work. If she woke up screaming with Naruto in the same vicinity, she was screwed.

"All right, Sakura-chan…" there was an obvious sense of dejection in his voice, but he complied and scooted away from her. The cold and empty feeling was painfully obvious to Sakura, but she shoved the feeling down and away. She just didn't want to be so preoccupied with a man's body right now. She needed a dreamless sleep for once.

* * *

Sakura woke up hours later, silencing her scream. This time, it was senbon torture. She sat up, breathing deep. The stupid flowers didn't work. Nothing would.

What about this evil that was searching for Sakura? Was that what the nightmares were forewarning?

The kunoichi felt her stomach growl in emptiness and she sighed. She wouldn't be able to get out of the tent without waking the Uchiha outside. She didn't want anyone to know about her dreams. Then she remembered the fruit Tama gave her. It would have to do for now- and didn't she say something about the food helping her somehow? Maybe it would do what the flowers couldn't. Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out the light pink fruit, taking in its sweet scent. She bit into its flesh, the syrupy yet tart juice filling her senses. A sweet shiver ran down her spine and a warm feeling encompassed her entire body. Sakura took a deep breath as she lied down and closed her eyes once more. She already felt calm.

_Sakura sat up, looking around, and found Naruto snoring next to her. Suddenly a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach surged through her, and her mind had only one thought in it. She pushed her blanket back and pressed her body close to Naruto's, leaning her lips close to his ear. Her breath blew softly next to him, stirring the man awake. His blue eyes blinked slowly open._

"_Sakura-chan? Is it time to go already?" he sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head. _

"_Naruto." Sakura's voice was low, and in some tone she never heard herself speak before-pure lust. Her body felt so warm and bubbly. She reached her hand up to Naruto's face and traced her finger gently across his jaw line. She could see him shiver and turn to her, his eyes wide._

"_Sakura?" she didn't reply. She didn't know what had come over her, but it seemed as if she was possessed. Sakura's eyes didn't even remain locked with Naruto's, for her green orbs dropped down take in his tight white shirt- his jacket was tossed aside while he was sleeping. She dropped her hand down onto his chest and pressed her palm into him, feeling his warm skin beneath the thin cloth. His pulse quickened beneath her and she suddenly felt a rush of confidence emerge. She eased her hand down his torso to lift his shirt off, and the man's breath hitched. A devilish grin covered Sakura's face and she tossed the shirt aside. Her hand pressed once more against Naruto's bare chest and she drank in the sight of his well toned body. The years of training gave him lean muscles and a golden tan. Sakura pushed away the remaining blankets from the both of them and lifted one of her legs over Naruto's body, straddling him. _

"_Sakura…"he said warily, "Are you sure-" he lost his chance to speak once again as Sakura locked her lips hungrily onto the Uzumaki's. She nipped his lower lip gently with her teeth and he opened his mouth in a gasp. She took the chance and slipped her tongue over his lips, tasting his mouth thoroughly. His scent was ravaging her nostrils; a smoky masculine aroma with the slightest hint of ramen. It was absolutely delicious. And in one fluid moment she broke their kiss, tore away her shirt and threw it aside, revealing a lacy black bra that left little to the imagination. She looked to Naruto to see his eyes darken in what could only be described as lust. _

"_What's wrong, Naruto?" she teased, tracing his muscles along his abdomen and made her way down the waistband of his pants. Her heartbeat thrummed and as she dipped one of her hands below his pants, she heard a satisfied breath escape from Naruto's mouth in a hiss. She paused and lowered her head, kissing lightly all across his face; along his jaw line down to his collarbone, to his chest then his navel. And simultaneously, as she pulled down and away his pants, she bumped a rather hard and warm attachment along the way. Sakura could feel in the pit of her stomach a fire growing. _

"_Oh, shit… Sakura" Naruto took her by the waist, flipping them so that he pinned her on the bottom. Sakura's heart picked up it's jagged beat, liking the way he was taking charge. Naruto dipped his head and took her in a kiss so sexual and primal that Sakura thought that he would swallow her whole. She arched her back trying to push her body even closer to his. Both of their bodies burned in their heat. She had never felt this good before._

_Naruto broke their kiss and Sakura moaned in desire. A toothy grin crossed the shinobi's face and he lightly kissed her lips once more before his hands dropped down to her black shorts, pulling them off quickly. A satisfied growl escaped from his lips once he saw that she had the very same pair of black lacy underwear with red roses on the trim._

"_Na-Naruto…" Sakura called out, her voice pleading for something. But she herself didn't know what was to come next. Apparently Naruto did. He ran his calloused hands up her smooth abdomen and dipped under the lining of her bra. Sakura gasped as he took hold of her left breast and began to knead it. Oh, kami, it felt like Sakura's body was on fire. He must've learned a thing or two from that Jiraiya during his training._

_She pulled the rest of her bra off and Naruto took the opportunity to clamp his mouth over her unoccupied nipple. A small moan escaped from Sakura's mouth and in response Naruto nipped the bud of her nipple, sweeping his tongue over the areola. Sakura's back arched as she felt Naruto's other hand leave her breast and trail fire down her abdomen to run over her panties. _

"_Ah, Naruto…" she moaned his name and Naruto lifted his mouth away from her breast- and locked it onto hers. He swallowed her loud moan as he began to rub her mound through the thin lace. She didn't know what to do to make him get closer. One of her legs slipped between his thighs and lifted up, rubbing against him furtively. He was hard. Sakura could feel his warm member stiffen even more through the fabric. An idea sparked in her head, and she snaked one of her hands down between their bodies. Naruto's eyes opened right when she reached under his boxers. Sakura hesitated for only a moment before she wrapped her hand around his shaft and began to slowly pump him. _

"_Ah!" he moaned loudly, breaking their kiss and pulling his hand away from her lower body as Sakura's hand felt him._

"_Please, Naruto…" her voice was raspy, but it was audible all the same. She felt much more in control, asking him for what she wanted now. With the shinobi's face twisted in pleasure she felt powerful, and quite the seductress._

"_Wh-what do… you want me to do, S-sakura?" Naruto's own voice was husky, trying to find his words through his cloudy mind._

"_You know what I want." her grip tightened and she ran her thumb over the head of his cock where it was slick with pre-cum. A low growl rumbled deep in Naruto's throat in approval. He instantly hooked his fingers under her panties and pulled them down. Sakura pulled her hand away and gasped as he sat up on his knees. His hands were quick as he dropped his boxers down and pulled them away. _

_Sakura's face darkened deeply with a blush. Naruto was gorgeous; every inch of his body was pure liquid gold and the kunoichi wanted nothing but to eat him up._

_Naruto leaned down over Sakura, placing each of his hands on either side of her for support before he would go any closer. He looked to her so as to make sure this was all right and she nodded, the ball of fire in her stomach intensifying as she felt his cock brushing against her inner thighs. She moaned and he rubbed her gently at her entrance. _

"_Oh kami…Sakura, you're so wet." his breath warmed her skin and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto teased her slowly, the head of his member rubbing her entrance. Sakura arched her back, her mouth opening in a cry for need. She pressed close to his cock to the point where the tip had pushed through the folds. She moaned softly, digging her nails into Naruto's back. Finally, the Uzumaki plunged in and his mouth clamped over Sakura, swallowing her screams._

_It hurt only for a moment. As soon as the pain came it left. And in its place came the most intense pleasure of the kunoichi's life. The walls past her mound wrapped around him tightly- bringing them both to near insanity. Sakura bit Naruto's lower lip and sucked on it. Their lower bodies stood still for a moment while Naruto adjusted to the fit. And slowly…slowly he pulled out of Sakura, almost all the way out. She moaned in protest, but in the midst of her cries he plunged into her once more, making her gasp as he began to thrust harder… and faster. Sakura brought her legs up and hooked them over Naruto's lower back, bringing them even closer with each of his thrusts. She could feel that ball of fire growing… tightening in the pit of her stomach. _

_Naruto's breath was becoming jagged, but he wasn't slowing down. He wrapped his arms around Sakura, lifting her up so that she was sitting right on him as he plunged into her. Sakura wrapped her arms around him and bucked her hips, intensifying the collision. Naruto growled in pleasure and the pink haired woman smiled into the crook of his neck. Then he lowered his head and took one of Sakura's breasts into his mouth and sucked on her nipple wildly. Sakura kissed his neck and suckled on his skin, nipping him all along his collarbone as they made love._

_Suddenly Naruto thrust into her so far, he touched something that sent Sakura's mind spinning. _

"_Right there" she breathed into his ear. "Oh kami, do it again."_

_Her lover nibbled her ear in response and thrust himself repeatedly against that spot. Sakura felt her muscles tightening, a sweet shiver racing down her spine. All of a sudden she felt that tight ball of fire in the pit of her stomach explode into a million points of light and she was pushed over the edge. Her head tilted back and her fingers gripped his golden locks as she cried out._

"_NARUTO!" _

_Naruto felt the walls in Sakura tighten around his cock as she reached her orgasm and he too was sent over the edge. He clutched onto Sakura, thrusting roughly into her as he realeased his seed. He held onto her tightly, crying out her name. Slowly they both came down from their high and their eyes met once more._

"_Sakura-chan…I…" _

_Sakura leaned in to kiss Naruto lightly. Then she pulled back to sit down as he pulled out of her; her body could feel him missing. But she kept her arms wrapped around him as if in a compromise with herself. Naruto smiled sweetly to her and they collapsed onto their blankets in content and exhaustion, sleep capturing the both of them immediately._

* * *

Sakura woke up in complete warmth, having one of the best dreams of her life_._ She forgot about how great dreams could be ever since her nightmares took over. She looked outside to see the sun was barely rising. The kunoichi sat up and stretched her rather sore muscles and suddenly felt a chill across her body. She looked down and gasped.

_She was naked._

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It was perfectly reasonable. In her dreams she sometimes kicked off her clothes…it happened…

Sakura grabbed her clothes and got dressed, not once looking to Naruto. She was terrified of what she would see. But finally, as she pulled on her last item of clothing, there was no other choice. The pink haired woman turned her head and held her breath as she looked to her teammate. Inside she already knew the answer.

Naruto lied on his side, the back of his naked body glistening with a golden sheen of sweat. He snored loudly and turned over, revealing the lower half of his body. Sakura could feel all of the blood in her rush to her cheeks. There was a lazy smile on the Uzumaki's face as his arm stretched out in his sleep. Sakura could feel that familiar warmth in the pit of her stomach come to life.

"Oh _shit._"

* * *

"Sakura-chan, why won't you look at me?" Naruto walked beside her as the team guided the wagon towards the port. It had been four days since that night, and Sakura felt like someone had dealt an infinite amount of blows to her stomach. The main reason was because- he didn't remember.

"Sakura-chan, please! Look at me! What did I do?!" he clasped his hands together in a pleading motion, his blue eyes near tears.

_What didn't you do?_ Sakura pushed her perverted thoughts away and turned her face away from the blonde. "Naruto… I don't feel like talking, okay?"

"But…but…." he looked distraught and it left Sakura torn. But she was livid, absolutely _livid_ that he couldn't remember something like that. And yet at the same time she was miserable. Because she finally lost her virginity and she was the only one who could remember it.

And the fact that it was with Naruto just…baffled her.

She talked with Tama that morning asking her what kind of fruit that she was given, knowing that was the cause of her heated passion.

"_It is merely a fruit from my old country that surfaces the feelings that one is suppressing. Why? Did something happen last night?" a spark flickered in the gypsy's knowing eyes and Sakura immediately blushed._

"_I don't know what you're talking about!"_

That night just confused her relationship with Naruto. What did she think of him? Was it love? Or was she just really fond of him? It was all just too confusing to think of right now.

"Just leave her alone, dobe. She obviously doesn't want to talk to you." Sasuke walked alongside them, his dark eyes switching between the blonde haired and pink haired shinobi.

Sakura sighed. She could smell the sea air as they approached the port and a slight anxiousness was present in her. They would be spending time together again. At least the awkwardness from Sasuke's fiasco was forgotten between the team after a few beatings (mainly between Naruto and Sasuke). But Sakura (and Tama?) was the only one who knew what happened between her and Naruto. This "day-cation" they were planning on taking was going to be interesting to say the least.

Tama pulled her cart to a slow stop. "This is where we part, my new friends."

Sakura nodded, a small smile reaching her face. "It was nice meeting you, Tama-chan."

The gypsy jumped down from her wagon perch and walked to the back of the carriage. "Follow me, please."

Naruto looked to Sasuke and sneaked a look at Sakura; his eyes saddened every time he would look at her. Sasuke took the first steps forward and the other two followed.

"I would like to give you gifts, as a thank you for escorting me all the way to this port." she pulled away the partition and ruffled through the packages in the back.

"I don't want any of your love potions." Sasuke's face turned slightly paler which Sakura could only guess was in thought of what happened not one week ago.

"No," the gypsy laughed. "That would cost you 20,000 ryo." before the ninja's jaws dropped to the ground, Tama pulled out 3 objects; a necklace, a dagger and a small coin. "These objects will come of use to you in the future." she handed them their gifts. Sakura received the green amulet, Naruto the dagger, and Sasuke the bronze coin. "All of these gifts are meant to do one thing: protect. Use them well." she closed the partition and climbed her wagon once more. "I hope we can meet again, my friends. And I hope it will be in good humor."

"Bye Tama-chan!" Naruto waved happily. He was excited about the aspect of a vacation, it was obvious. As the wagon blended into the crowded street, he turned to Sakura and Sasuke, his grin widening, "Vacation time!"

Sakura strained a small smile; she hoped this would all pass over for her soon. Maybe she could even forget about what happened four nights ago.

* * *

It was the next day the team decided to go to the local beach to spend their day-cation and afterward leave for Konoha. The weather was brilliant even for this winter season they were in. The sun was shining, the waves were rolling and the sand was warm. It was all too perfect.

"Sakura-chan, it's nice out, huh?" Naruto stood tall in only a pair of orange and black trimmed board shorts, his pelvic bone well defined with the low dip of the trunks. Sakura pulled her sweater over her, despite the blazing sun. It was winter, shouldn't it be cold?! Sakura was wearing her red swim suit-the one she bought with Ino last year. It was a little small, but it was the only one she had. The one piece was snug on her chest, the V-neck dipping suggestively low, and the strap was a halter style. Normally she would be tanning away, swimming and playing in the water; but she just didn't feel like showing off her body right now. Naruto caught wind of her mood.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," he plopped down beside her in the sand. "What's going on?"

Sakura looked to the open sea and said nothing to him. What was she supposed to say? _We made love five nights ago and only I remember that fantastic night? _The kunoichi inwardly rolled her eyes and stood up, peeling her sweater off of her sweaty skin. Maybe she could do with some swimming. She turned around and found her blonde friend's eyes glued to her body, his pupils dilated to inhuman circumferences.

"Ehem." Sakura coughed, catching Naruto off guard.

He lightly laughed, "S-sorry Sakura-chan. You look… hot." Sakura instantly smacked Naruto upside the head.

"Pervert!"

"OW!OW!OW!OW! I'm sorry Sakura-chan! I was just being a guy." he rubbed the back of his head, laughing. Kami, Sakura wanted to kill him so much.

"Feel better?" he stood up next to her, his toothy grin spreading wide across his face.

"What?"

"Well you haven't hit me in a long time, so I thought you were _really_ mad at me. I didn't know what I did to make you mad. But what whatever it was I'm sorry." he was sincere, but for some reason, it did not make Sakura feel better at all. The two sat there looking out to the sea, lost in a moment of silence.

"Hey, dobe? How about some volleyball?"

And in an instant Naruto ran off. "I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and rested her head onto her drawn up knees. So much for the vacation.

* * *

"Sakura! Get your ass out of that bathroom. I'm not going to be late to my own bachelorette party!" Ino slammed on the bathroom door, but Sakura ignored the blonde's angry protests. It had been two weeks since her mission had ended and three weeks since that night with Naruto. She hadn't told a soul about what had happened, not even Ino-which surprised her. They shared everything.

"Sakura, I will break this fucking door down if you don't get your ass out of that bathroom! I want to spend my last few moments as a single girl drunk off my ass. And you being my best friend, I want you there alongside me getting wasted!"

Sakura sighed, looking at herself in the mirror; she pulled her pink tresses back into a small ponytail, and applied black eyeliner and lip gloss. That should be enough. Sakura wasn't a big make-up girl like Ino was with her foundation, eye shadow, mascara, and whatever else the drawers in her bathroom were crammed with. Sakura pulled the top of her strapless short black dress up so that her cleavage wasn't flamboyantly showing. The lace trim on her dress gave her a "flirty look" (Ino had told her that when they bought their dresses). Sakura disagreed, she felt so…ugly. And fat. But no matter what, she was going to Ino's bachelorette party. Her best friend was getting married in a month-the kunoichi could hardly believe it. And soon, Sakura knew without a doubt, within days after the ceremony, she would be talking about a baby on the way. Another one of her friends was blooming, while she was still a bud.

"I'm coming." Sakura stepped out of the bathroom, her black high heeled sandals clicking. She wanted to get this over with as fast as humanly possible.

"Finally!" Ino grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her out of her apartment and towards the local bar where the bachelorette party was just starting.

* * *

"CHEERS TO INO!" voices shouted throughout the pub, ringing in Sakura's ears. She clanged her glass of Shirley Temple to others' glasses, her smile half sincere. She was happy for Ino, really she was. But she just didn't feel like drinking. She wasn't that big of a drinker anyway-and thankfully with Hinata pregnant, she wasn't alone on the sober train.

"It should be a show, watching them slowly get drunk." Hinata giggled in her seat next to Sakura's.

"Slowly? I personally think they're racing to a blackout." Sakura laughed, taking a small sip from her drink. She really wasn't kidding. Ino, Ten-Ten, Kurenai, and Anko were shooting sake like their lives depended on it. Sakura would have to keep a close eye on her friend. The pub wasn't entirely rented out, to Ino's request. She wanted to scope out as many men as she possibly could. And to Sakura's horror, it seemed even with the high amount of females attending the party- men seemed to outnumber them in the local bar.

"S-Sakura-kun?" Hinata's voice caught her attention.

"Yes, Hinata?"

"Is something wrong? You seem different." her pale eyes scanned Sakura as if trying to find what was "different" about her.

"D-different?" Sakura pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "…Not that I know of."

"Alright, ladies." suddenly a man in a jounin outfit appeared in front of the girls group, and twirled a kunai around his finger. "Which one of you is the bachelorette?"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I a-a-a-a-am!!!" Ino was already drunk. _Kami_, Sakura thought; she would have to be on-duty early on in the night.

"Well then, you've been naughty. It looks like this shinobi needs to teach you a lesson-!" and in one smooth move, the man took the kunai and slit his clothes off; leaving on a dark blue g-string with the Hidden Leaf village symbol on his crotch. Whistles rang throughout the room and Ino waved her drink around happily.

"Aw, you guys! You shouldn't have!" Ino giggled as the stripper gyrated in front of her, that g-string holding on for dear life.

"Are you kidding? You would've killed us if we didn't get you a stripper!" Ten-Ten giggled, her drink spilling slightly onto her chest.

Sakura whirled back around in her chair to face the bar. "I really don't want to see this."

"I know how you f-feel." Hinata's face was a dark red. "Would you like a peanut, Sakura?" she held a bowl out to the kunoichi. "I just can't get enough of them."

Sakura looked down at the bowl and the smell of the peanuts hit her nostrils. "Ugh. Are those rotten?" she covered her nose and felt her stomach quiver. What the hell was Hinata thinking eating those rank peanuts? Even with her cravings, there has to be a limit. Like edibility.

"Hm? Th-they seem perfectly f-fine to me. Here, try one." she held the bowl out to Sakura and the smell was just over powering her senses; Sakura could feel her stomach lurch in protest.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick-" Sakura jumped up and ran to the girls bathroom, slamming the stall door open and sending her Shirley Temples and the dinner right back out of her mouth and into the toilet.

What was going on? She never hated peanuts that much. And the only smell that had ever made her throw up was the smell of a corpse when she was training with Tsunade a few years back. But she was desensitized to it now.

She sat down on the bathroom floor, her breath shaky. She wiped her mouth and coughed; her thoughts were flying everywhere-what had she eaten in the past few hours that would give her this kind of reaction? She ate some pork ramen-maybe the meat was bad? No, the shop owner would never allow bad meat to go into his ramen. Besides, the symptoms of food poisoning were different to what she had. And all she could think that triggered her sickness were those peanuts…

What was going-

_No…_

Sakura gasped and jumped up. It had only been three weeks, but surely it wouldn't-? It made sense… but then all of this would depend upon what the date was. _Damn it_, for the life of her, Sakura couldn't remember the date!

She stood up and rushed out of the bathroom and to the bar, "Hinata!"

"S-sakura, what's wrong?"

"What's the date today?" her heart was racing. This couldn't be happening. This _couldn't_ be happening.

"What? Ehm…I believe it's the…5th."

_The 5__th__…the 5__th__…..the 5__th__………._

All the blood drained from Sakura's face. Her breath hitched and her knees buckled. Then everything went black.

"S-sakura-chan?! Sakura-chan!!!"

* * *

"I can't believe you passed out during my party billboard brow."

Sakura could hear Ino's voice, but everything was still dark. She felt something cool and wet press against her forehead and felt her pounding headache slowly subside. She slowly began to open her eyes to a blur of colors.

"Sakura? Sakura! Oh billboard brow!" she was in a tight embrace that forced the air out of her lungs.

"I-Ino! Can't breathe!"

"Oh! Sorry!" she let Sakura go, and gradually the pink haired woman's sight came back. She was in her own apartment- it was still night.

"You gave everyone quite a scare, billboard." Ino helped Sakura sit up, propping the pillow behind her. "What happened to you? Hinata said that you ran to the bathroom and came back asking about the date…"

Suddenly the night's events rushed back into Sakura's mind. _Shit…_ Tears began to stream down her face and she tried to wipe them away, but they were coming too fast. This was all wrong. This couldn't be happening to her. But...

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura, rubbing her hand across her back. "You can tell me. I'm your friend."

Sakura sobbed into Ino's shoulder, scared of what was going to happen. She didn't know what to do, how to say it. But one thing was for sure, she needed a friend right now more than anything.

"Ino…" she sat up straight and looked into Ino's pale blue eyes. "What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room."

"Billboard brow…"

"Promise me." She said.

"Sakura, I-"

"Just promise me, okay?!"

The blonde's eyes widened, but she nodded in agreement. Sakura took a deep breath, knowing no matter what happened- there was no going back now.

"Ino…I'm pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm very pleased to see that many of you are enjoying this story as much as I am. It really just started out with my desire to write a scene that's been playing in my head. So it's wonderful to see it being placed on favorite lists and whatnot. Very awesome, thank you.**

***Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto.**

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* * *

  
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Sakura Haruno had never pictured herself in this type of situation. In all of her years as a ninja, she thought there was a higher chance of dying. But there she was, sitting on her bed, waiting for Ino's reaction to this shocking secret.

"You're…pregnant." Ino repeated more to herself than to Sakura it seemed. The pink haired kunoichi's hands held tightly onto her sheets, nerves getting the better of the situation. Hearing those words from someone else made it all seem too real. There was something growing inside of her; and that something that would eventually become a living human being. It would walk and talk, smile and laugh, scream and cry. They would have a name, hopes, fears, and-

"Sakura, calm down, you're starting to hyperventilate." She felt Ino's hand rub her back in slow soothing circles, relaxing her. Sakura began to laugh, though her tears were still fresh and running.

"Ino, I'm going to have a baby…" Sakura leaned her head onto her friend's shoulder, a feeling of complete helplessness sinking into her.

"I know…" Ino struggled with her next words, but she took a deep breath and looked to Sakura, "…Who's… the father?"

Sakura knew this was coming; the obvious question linked hand in hand with her secret. Naruto's face came into her mind. It was such a clear and vivid image; his golden hair shooting up in every direction, his golden skin, fox like whisker marks that seemed to be his trade mark-next to his toothy grin, of course. And those eyes; Sakura would never, in all the rest of her life, forget those eyes. They were the clearest blue, rivaling that of the afternoon sky.

"I'm not ready-"

"At least tell me one thing about him." Ino was being persistent, but Sakura didn't know what to say. Any characteristic of Naruto would give him away, especially if she told the infamous Ino, the cataloguer of all men in Konoha. With just a few details, she could say if the man was single, who he slept (or had slept) with, and where he lived.

"What do you want me to say, Ino?"

The blonde paused for a moment and her hand slowed in its calming massage on Sakura's back. She smirked, "Was the sex fantastic?"

Sakura was stunned only for a moment; her mind shocked blank. Then, ever so slowly, a small smile appeared on the kunoichi's face and Sakura laughed. Ino started to giggle along, and soon they were gasping for air, holding onto each other for support. Tears streamed down both of their faces; a mixture of sorrow and anxiety.

* * *

"So what are you going to do?" Ino sat at the kitchen table as Sakura began bustling around her cupboards. Sakura needed to keep her mind busy, so she opted for making tea for the two of them. Her mind raced through all of the options, and none of them seemed even slightly sympathetic to her. She would have to eventually tell everyone that she was pregnant- her growing body would be proof of that alone. But what was going to happen when people began to ask the same question that came from Ino- _Who's the father?_

What about Naruto? He didn't even remember that they had sex. Would he believe that she was pregnant? That the baby was _his_? What about work? What would she do when she was incapable of going on missions or even performing the simplest of surgeries because of her physical state? Tsunade was going to kill her. People in the town were going to spread rumors, wondering why she wasn't with the father…

"Sakura," Ino's voice brought her back down to Earth, "I know what you're thinking; and you need to calm down and take a deep breath. Just figure out what you're going to do first."

"What am I suppose to do?"

Ino cocked an eyebrow, and snorted, "Well, aren't you Konoha's number one medic-nin? Shouldn't you already know the answer to that question?"

Sakura sighed. Ino was completely right; if anything, Sakura could look at this like the medic-nin she was. She was pregnant; so like any patient of hers she would recommend pre-natal vitamins, exercise, a constant good night's sleep, and no alcohol or tobacco. Okay. There it was. Her first few steps-

"How am I supposed to get the pre-natal vitamins I need?"

"Well, not all pre-natal vitamins are prescription, billboard brow. We can go get some from the market, and I'll just say they're for me when Shika and I decide to have a baby."

Sakura put her cup of tea down and took hold of Ino's hand, squeezing it gently, "What would I do without you, Ino-pig?"

The "pig" rolled her eyes, "Of course you would suffer a horrible death. I am your savior, billboard brow. Do not forget that." Ino smiled haughtily but squeezed Sakura's hand back. At least for the moment, Sakura felt like there was hope- even if it was miniscule…it was still there, thanks to Ino.

* * *

"Good, morning Miss Yamanaka, Miss Haruno." The local market owner greeted the two as they walked through the entrance. Sakura looked to Ino, her hands slightly shaking. Ino smiled, reassuring her pink haired friend and then turned to the older man, "Good morning Hokkaido-san. Where do you stock your pre-natal vitamins?"

"Hm? Oh, they're in the back." Jiro Hokkaido, a man 20 years their senior, was the village market owner. To the benefit of the women, he never gave much attention to what items one bought- unlike so many of the gossiping shop owners in Konoha.

Ino and Sakura took their steps carefully back towards the vitamins, wanting to draw as little attention as possible. The shop keeper might have tight lips, but the same didn't go for the customers.

Sakura could feel her heart quicken as they stepped closer to the aisle.

"Here." Ino gently led her to stand in front of a row of the vitamins, and Sakura's eyes scanned them all, her nerves calming. Her medic-nin state of mind was taking over. There were quite a few that would suit, but some had too high of an iron count or vitamin A, and that wouldn't be helpful. She would need the type that would give an extra boost of calcium along with her other needed vitamins.

Finally the kunoichi picked a brand and handed it to Ino, "Here you go. This should fit with your needs." Ino and Sakura had rehearsed their lines to perfection; because kami knew that there would be eavesdroppers.

"Good." Ino and Sakura made their way up to the register and paid for the item. It was going flawlessly-no one had stopped them or from the looks of it, had paid too much attention to them. Sakura took the vitamins from the cashier, wrapped the purchase and handed it to Ino. The blonde promptly put the item into her purse, "Let's go, billboard brow. I want to get something to eat." The two girls then stepped out of the market and it was like someone lifted two tons of weight off of Sakura's shoulders; she felt relieved. Kami, there wasn't a word strong enough to describe the relief that stilled Sakura's heart and mind.

"So," Ino looked to Sakura, the feeling of success evident in her eyes as well, "where did you want to eat billboard-OW!" Someone pushed past Ino, knocking her into Sakura. Thankfully, they caught themselves before anymore attention could be brought upon them.

"YOU STUPID SON OF A-Shika?" Ino's cheeks turned a bright tomato red as her fiancé stood a few feet from her, an apologetic look on his face. The blood in Sakura's face drained as she painfully stood behind, the invisible weight dropping right back down onto her shoulders.

"Ino," Shikamaru sounded surprised; not a good sign, "What are you doing here? I thought you would still be in bed with a hangover." Sakura could tell the genius was breaking down every possible detail around him, figuring out just what was going on. He would most likely give a correct assumption if Ino didn't distract him-

"I couldn't drink," The blonde lied smoothly, "I was thinking about your bachelor party, wondering what woman was sticking their disgusting hands all over you." Sakura almost snorted with laughter; Ino was confident that Shika would never think about another woman the rest of his life with her beside him.

…Mostly due to threats towards all the females that inhabited Konoha. The poor shinobi would never be approached by another woman the rest of his life.

"Ah, well," The lazy genius rubbed the back of his head, "other women are just too troublesome." And Sakura could see the slightest hint of a blush appear on the man's face. He was truly sweet, in his own unconventional way.

"Shikamaru…" Ino took hold of Shika's hand and a smile crept onto the kunoichi's face.

_Oh no…_Sakura was going to have to step in, otherwise this would lead to a sex romp. It had happened before, and it would happen again. No one could forget that night one month ago when they were going at it in the middle of the local pub. It still brought chills to all who were there.

"Um, Ino, we should get going…"

"Hm? Oh! Yes! We should."

And then Shikamaru's attention shifted to Sakura. The kunoichi smiled, nodding in polite salutation, but her conscience screamed obscenities for placing the unwanted spotlight onto her.

"Sakura, I haven't seen you in a while. You look different." The genius' keen eyes sharpened suddenly, "Hey, Sakura-"

_SHIT._

"Well, Shika, we have to get going! See you later, bye!" Ino took Sakura's hand and yanked her away, in a not so subtle exit.

* * *

"Did you see his face back there?" Sakura sat at a table inside of a restaurant, ignoring the menu laid out in front of her, "Oh, _kami_."

Ino growled, "He was doing his genius _figure out every damn thing so that I know what the fuck's going_ magic- oh, thank you" The waitress brought them their cups of water, and paused.

"Are you ready to-"

"No." The women replied in unison. The waitress rolled her eyes and walked away. Who cared what she thought? Sakura had more important things to think about at the moment.

"I just might be screwed, Ino."

"You just might be right, billboard brow." Ino put her menu down, "_Damn it_! We were so close! So close!"

"He'll know, without a doubt." Sakura covered her face with her hands. She was screwed; the somewhat formulated plan of telling people herself about being pregnant just collapsed before her like a house of cards. Now that Shikamaru knew…oh the people he could tell.

"Wait. This might be good." Ino gripped one of Sakura's arms tightly, "This just might work in our favor, billboard brow!"

"What are you talking about, pig?" Sakura slowly sipped the cool water from the cup placed in front of her.

"Shikamaru might know that you're pregnant, but he doesn't know_ who the father is_." Ino's face slightly twisted in annoyance, "Just like _me_."

Sakura sighed, "Ino, I…"

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura choked on her water and began to cough loudly, her face turning a bright red. Ino looked at her for merely a moment, a dazed look on her face. Then suddenly-

"NO FUCKING-" Ino clamped her mouth shut, though her eyes were still as wide as saucers. Ino tossed Sakura a napkin and moved to sit right beside the coughing kunoichi.

Ino gripped a handful of Sakura's shirt, yanking on it,"You have some _explaining _to do, Haruno." she whispered right into the kunoichi's ear but Sakura was more preoccupied with someone else at the moment and chose to ignore the pale blonde's words. For now…

The Uzumaki came in and paused at the entrance, Sakura noted that the shinobi had the dagger Tama had given him during their mission strapped to his belt. It reminded her of the amulet she received and the coin their other teammate had gotten.

And almost immediately- like a cruel joke- Sasuke walked in; followed by Chouji, Kiba, Hinata, and Shikamaru. If it were humanly possible, Sakura's face turned a paler shade of white. This was not going to be her day.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto sat down across from her at their table while the rest followed suit, sitting in their own spots; Shikamaru took a spot next to Ino, his eyes locking onto his fiancé's. The pink haired woman could only imagine what was wordlessly passing between the two at that moment.

"Man, I'm hungry! I haven't eaten in two whole hours!" Chouji sat down at the table, grabbing one of the menus, his eyes scanning its contents, "Waitress!"

"Here Hinata, let me get that chair for you." Kiba pulled back one of the chairs for his very pregnant wife and Hinata blushed nodding in thanks as she sat down.

"_Ne_, Sakura-chan, what's wrong? You look like you ate a bad bowl of ramen."

"Oh, I've had those pains before…" Chouji chuckled.

"Oh, N-nothing, Naruto." The pink haired woman mumbled, "I'm perfectly fine."

"Really?" Sasuke smirked, taking a seat next to his orange clad teammate. He seemed to be enjoying her small panic attack, "You do seem a bit odd." Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance-her infamous anger was triggered.

"It's none of your business, Sasuke." She grabbed her cup of water and downed the rest of its contents. Stupid Sasuke's damned intuitiveness was not helping the situation. Sakura would need to keep her wits about her. Never mind that Naruto sat two feet from her, oblivious to damn near anything. Or that Shikamaru might have told all of these people of his suspicions. There was no way in hell she was going to let anyone find out.

"Hn." The Uchiha cocked an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.

"I need to go freshen up." Ino stood up and looked to her side, "Sakura?" Her eyes glinted with her hidden words-_you are coming with me right now whether you like it or not_.

The kunoichi stood up and followed her friend, wondering what she was going to do, or how she was going to explain anything.

* * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Ino laughed so loud, Sakura was sure that they could be heard.

"Ino, keep your voice down!"

"I CAN'T-" Ino chuckled, but lowered her voice as asked, "I can't believe you did it with that idiot. You really-" She gasped for air between her muffled laughs, "He's father. HE'S THE FATH-" Sakura clamped her hand over Ino's mouth.

"Keep your voice down, pig! I don't…want anyone…to…" Damn it, Sakura could feel her eyes stinging and her voice going hoarse; she was about to cry…

"Mphrhphm." Ino moved the kunoichi's hand away and clarified herself, "Sakura, I have two things to tell you. One of them you might not like- well you might not want to hear either-but that's beside the point. You need to tell him. And second- what made you change your mind on guarding your _precious flower_?"

Sakura was distraught. Ino was already knee deep, so she might as well dive the rest of the way into this ocean of madness. So the kunoichi began to tell the blonde what happened that night; starting with the gypsy and ending with Naruto's mental-lapse of their time together, she told her story. And through it all, Ino said not one word- though her facial expressions compensated well enough.

Her anger was evident by the end.

"I'm gonna kill him, simple as that. I'll rip his dick off and toss it to Akamaru to chew on." Ino glared through the bathroom door, towards the unsuspecting shinobi. Sakura wouldn't put it past her to follow through with that threat.

"Ino, please, it's already hard enough for me to tell you this…" And it was. It took Sakura all of her strength to tell Ino about Naruto, but in a strange way, she felt better. Now that the pig knew about Naruto, she could help Sakura avoid-

_Avoid?_ Was that what she wanted; to completely ignore the Uzumaki? Sakura ran shaking fingers through her pink tresses. This was all too much, too fast.

"We need to get out of here, billboard brow. But I'll only tell you this one more time: you need to sit that idiot down and tell him what's going on before he hears it from someone else."

"You won't-!"

'No," Ino shook her head, "I would never do that to you, as much as you piss me off sometimes, you are still my best friend. But think this through, billboard brow. You're going to be growing, and people will question you, and if you don't answer, rumors will spread. They'll look to the men closest to you: Sasuke, Kakashi…Naruto. It's going to be messy either way, but…"

Sakura never thought about it that way, and her heart dropped, "I… have to tell him, don't I?" Ino didn't reply, because she didn't need to. There was no other way around it. Sakura was going to have to tell Naruto that they were going to have a baby. But first she needed to convince him that they had sex.

"Sakura?"

"What is it, Ino?"

"Do you love him?" There was that question again; one that not only her friends asked her, but it was the very same question that raging conscience within the pink kunoichi screamed almost everyday.

_**DAMN IT! ANSWER ME!**_

Sakura didn't know how to answer herself. Did she? The gypsy Tama said that the fruit she consumed revealed her true feelings. Did that mean she loved Naruto, or was _only_ sexually attracted to him? She couldn't deny the physical attraction that she had towards the blonde shinobi anymore- that much was obvious. But did her affection run deeper than mere physicality? The only thing she had to compare this confusing feeling towards Naruto was her long time crush on Sasuke.

But there was just an infinite amount of differences between those situations. When Sakura was crazy over the Uchiha, she swore to anyone who would listen that it was love. But in retrospect, all it seemed to be was an obsession; like he was some toy she could never get her hands on. The pink haired woman felt ashamed after all her wasted years, pining over a man who would never love anyone. He was cold, distant, and spiteful towards her.

Then there was Naruto. Sakura had never been treated so well by a boy before; she never knew what to make of him. As a young ninja, he would constantly talk to her, interrupting the kunoichi's Sasuke themed fantasies- so she dubbed him as loud and annoying. Despite her show of anger towards the blonde boy, he never snapped at her. Naruto always had a smile just for her and an offer for ramen at Ichiraku. He's saved her life so many times that Sakura had lost count by now. Whenever they were together, it seemed natural and just right. Where Sasuke had burned a hole into her heart, Naruto filled her aching need to be loved. There should be no question about her feelings toward the man, but…

"Maybe the real question you should be asking is if I'm ready to fall in love?" Sakura's voice was hoarse as she looked to Ino, her tears drying up.

The blonde kunoichi laughed, "Billboard brow, I can tell you from personal experience that love doesn't give a flying fuck if you're ready or not."

There was a knock on the bathroom door, "S-Sakura-kun? I-Ino-kun? Are you guys alright in there?"

Whoops, they took too long.

"Yeah, we'll be right out, Hinata." Ino fixed up her hair and makeup, and looked to Sakura, "You'd better wash that face of yours. You look like shit." Sakura growled back at her, but laughed anxiously. Sakura would have to tell him; as simple as that. She might not understand her feelings completely, but she owed it to Naruto to tell him what was going on.

* * *

"Sakura! Open up, it's Ino."

Okay, she chickened out. It's been four weeks since she told her friend Ino about her pregnancy, and she avoided Naruto like the plague. Every time he would come by the hospital she would grab some paper work and run off, saying she was too busy to talk. Lies, lies, lies…

And on several occasions, he came to her house demanding to know what he did to make her mad at him. But she never answered her door, too terrified to tell him what was really wrong with her. Now it was the day before Ino's wedding and here she was, sitting on her couch, feasting on mint chocolate chip ice cream with jelly. The kunoichi got up and opened the door, a sheepish look on her face, "Hi, Ino. How's it-"

"Don't give me that bull crap of a greeting, billboard. What the hell is going through your mind? Do you know I'm getting married tomorrow?" The blonde carried in a big box into the apartment and dropped it onto the floor, "And a certain pink haired friend of mine didn't even show up for the fitting! You are _so_ lucky I know your size, billboard brow!" Ino growled, kneeling down beside the box and promptly opened it. She reached inside and pulled out a deep crimson dress, "Since you, Sakura, owe me, Ino, big time; you shall abide by my rules. I am, after all the bride, and you are my maid of honor." Sakura nodded, "God your cravings are disgusting. Throw that ice cream away." The pink haired kunoichi complied. Ino was serious, and there was no way Sakura was going to piss her off a day before the ceremony.

"Rule number one: you are to wear this tomorrow." Ino handed Sakura the dress, "Two: _I _will be doing your make-up, no questions asked. Rule number three: you will dance, you will laugh, and you will have fun. I will not have my maid of honor acting gloomy on the most important day of my life. Do you understand?"

"Yes Ino." Sakura rubbed her stomach and looked at the dress, "I'm going to look so ugly…"

"Well, next to me, of course." Ino laughed, but stopped once she saw the kunoichi sadden, "Sakura, you will be perfectly fine. I am doing your make-up. Therefore when I am done with you, you'll look like a total goddess. I would have nothing less at my own wedding." Sakura didn't reply.

"Have you been taking your vitamins?" Ino took the red dress from Sakura and wrapped it in its plastic cover.

"Yes."

"Eating right?" The blonde noted the strange food concoction she had her toss and a blush came over the pink haired woman.

"Well, for the most part- yes."

"Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Sakura coughed, "Yes."

Real answer: not at all.

Her nightmares have gotten worse over the past month; each one more gruesome and bloody. She would wake up drenched in sweat, wondering why the hell those stupid sprigs of Thyme and rock of amethyst weren't working. She even wore the green amulet Tama gave her. It was small and subtle, but the gypsy said it was for protection; Sakura had hoped it would protect her from the dreams, but they came every night like clockwork. It seemed as if nothing was going to rid her of those horrible images.

"Hm. Well maybe you should go to sleep now, just in case. Oh, and use these-" Ino tossed her a bag of skin creams, "They'll get rid of those bags under your eyes."

"Thanks..." The kunoichi retorted.

"Whatever, billboard. There will be pictures, and I will not have you looking like a zombie. Now go to bed and get some sleep. You're going to need it."

"Alright, Ino-pig, I'll go to sleep. Now _you_ go. Shouldn't you get some sleep too?"

Ino paused at the door and looked back to Sakura, "Have you told him yet?"

Sakura picked up the ridiculously big bag of cosmetic creams, "…No."

Ino sighed, "Alright, billboard. I'll see you tomorrow morning. DO NOT BE LATE!"

"I'm not like my sensei, pig. I'll be early." As soon as she closed the door, Sakura felt exhaustion consume her. Going to sleep really sounded like a good idea, despite how early in the evening it was. As soon as the kunoichi's head hit the pillow she was out like a light.

"_Sakura, there's no need to play this game. All you need to do is give us what we want."_

_The medic-nin was crouched low in a cold, dark room. The voice came from all around her, so she wasn't able to pinpoint their position to attack. Nevertheless, her grip tightened around her kunai, her muscles coiled to spring at any given moment. She would _not_ let them win. She would never give them what they wanted. It was her reason for living now, the motivation to keep moving, keep breathing; even with the numerous wounds on her body. She would not give up._

_Then she sensed it-behind her. Sakura whipped around, reaching to her most precious object before they got to it. Too late!_

"_Mama?!" That voice called out, stirring her. Her blood boiled and she thrashed at the empty air, and a low chuckle rumbled through her very bones._

"_You should've given us what we wanted while you still had the chance. Now we'll kill the both of you."_

_Sakura's heart clenched, "NO!!!!!!!"_

Sakura shot up in her bed, gasping for air. Her dreams have taken a new turn. They not only surrounded her death; but her unborn child's as well.

* * *

"Ino, you put too much make-up on me."

"No, I didn't billboard, you look fine. Now shut up and help me get through this damn door-"

That next morning, after a rather unpleasant episode of Sakura getting painted with kami knows what on her face; Ino, Sakura, TenTen, Hinata, and Temari got dressed in their outfits for the ceremony. They were supposed to leave that minute, but it seemed Ino was having some trouble with her princess cut dress. The gown had a very puffy skirt, no straps, long train…

And it was perfect for Ino. Now only if Sakura could help her get through the damned door.

"TenTen, push down the right side, and I'll get the left. Temari, pick up her train so that it doesn't get dirty or trampled on. Hinata, you go get her veil and bouquet."

"Yes sir!" TenTen joked and the other girls laughed. They all did what they were asked and somehow, they got Ino out of the apartment and to the chapel where they were holding the ceremony. Everything was going smoothly until-

"OH KAMI!!!!!" Ino screamed at the top of her lungs, making the three bridesmaids and the maid of honor jump.

"What? What's wrong, Ino?!" TenTen scanned the bride, looking for injuries.

"I forgot my garter! I need my garter! Otherwise what is Shika going to do when he has to take it from my leg?!"

"Isn't that the lacy thing he pulls off with his teeth?" Temari smirked.

"H-his teeth?" Hinata blushed furiously. Her wedding was more of an Eastern style wedding, whilst Ino wanted hers to be Western. Sakura could only imagine the embarrassment Hinata would've had to endure if Kiba had to pull a garter off of her leg using only his teeth.

"YES! And I had it with me! I think I left it back in the dressing room- Sakura could you go and get it?"

"Okay." Sakura brushed a strand of her pink hair back into place and made her way back to the dressing rooms. Thankfully she knew where Ino had left the garter-right on top of the vanity next to her enormous box of make-up. The kunoichi snatched the garment and made her way back to the entrance of the chapel. She almost reached the room when-

Suddenly she felt a pair of hands wrap around her and pull her into a dark room. The mysterious figure pushed her up against a wall, pressing onto her arms as they leaned over her. Sakura began to build chakra in her hands, ready to knock this person into the next room. This was no- The kunoichi gasped.

That smoky masculine scent-she could _never_ forget that smell.

"Naruto?" Sakura's heart raced. She could feel a deep blush coming over her cheeks, "What are you doing, baka?!"

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry for doing this, but you've been avoiding me for over a month! This was the only way to get you to talk to me!" His breath was warm on the nape of Sakura's neck. He was so close- he must be able to tell how hard her pulse was pounding. Sakura pushed against his hold, but he held strong-the kunoichi couldn't find the will in her to use her chakra against him, so she remained in his clutches.

"Naruto…" This was insane. She couldn't talk to him here. Not now.

"Sakura-chan, just please tell me what I did to you. I can't stand having you mad at me." His head lowered to rest on the kunoichi's shoulders and his hands dropped down her arms, gently caressing her, "Just…please…tell me what I did…" His gesture was completely innocent, something he most likely thought of as nothing yet for Sakura…it almost drove her over the edge. She felt a cool shiver run down her spine at his slight touch. The tortured woman bit her lip-preventing a moan escaping from her mouth.

"N-Naruto," She couldn't believe herself; she was actually through with it. The things this man could make her do… "Do you remember that mission we had not too long ago?"

The Uzumaki's head lifted slightly, "When we escorted Tama-chan to the port? _Hai_, I remember."

Sakura took a deep breath, wondering how she could explain this to him, "That first night, after Sasuke-"

"I really don't want to remember that, Sakura-chan…"

"_After_ that, baka. When-" The kunoichi took a deep breath, "When we slept in the same tent." Sakura's body felt so warm with his body radiating heat onto her. Every inch of her skin was itching to touch him once more; to feel his taut body below her fingers. What had Naruto done to her?

Naruto shifted slightly and stepped away from her, and through the dark Sakura could see him rub the back of his head, "Y-yeah. I remember that."

"Um…" Her heart felt like a hammer, it was pounding so strongly, "And…that night. After we went to sleep; do you-"

"Sakura?" TenTen's voice was not far off as she called to the kunoichi, "Sakura? Where are you? Ino's starting to worry."

TenTen was most likely under exaggerating. The blonde bride was probably strangling a near by guest out of impatience and anger. Sakura sighed and looked to Naruto. This was obviously not going to be the day she told him.

"I'll leave first. You go later." She mumbled and began to walk out until she felt a gentle but firm grip on her wrist.

"Sakura, are you still mad at me?" His voice was low, so that the approaching woman couldn't hear them through the door.

Sakura shook her head, "No. As much as I want to be- I could never stay mad at you for long…" It was all too true. The kunoichi then slipped out of Naruto's grip and walked out of the dark room.

"Tenten, I'm here. I found the garter."

* * *

"Sakura! Get your ass over here!" Ino whispered harshly, and the kunoichi immediately walked over.

"What is it, pig?"

"You told him, didn't you?" The blonde had taken off her massive veil and had it tossed aside for the massive reception they were holding at Konoha's Public Park. The ceremony had gone without a hitch, although Ino's vows were a bit unconventional-

"_Shika, from the moment I first met you, I thought you were the laziest ninja in this kami forsaken village. But throughout the years whenever in battle, you gave it your all, just to protect your team. And when you finally stopped thinking of me as troublesome-"_

"_Stopped?-OW!" Shika shook out his bruised fingers and tentatively took hold of Ino's hand once again, "Sorry…"_

"_When you STOPPED thinking of me as troublesome and asked me out- that first night together was absolutely… AMAZING! Oh, kami! The things a genius could-"_

Sakura didn't want to remember past that point. It only got worse.

"Answer me, billboard brow. You told him, right?"

"No. I almost did…but no."

"Are you sure?" Ino looked to where Naruto was standing; munching on the food at the buffet table with Chouji, "He's been looking at you the entire day; like he's been…_thinking_. Naruto never looks like he's concentrating."

"Ino." Sakura growled; contrary to that stupid pig's assumption, Naruto was actually quite intelligent…but sometimes he acted like a 10 year old.

"Look, maybe he actually _does_ remember that night. Maybe he just thinks that _you_ don't remember it."

"That's stupid."

"Oh come on, billboard brow! Just tell him, for kami's sake! Make it my wedding gift!"

"I already bought you a wedding gift, pig."

Ino's eyes sparkled with interest, "Really? What did you get me?"

"You damn well know what I got you. You gave a list to each of us, demanding that we buy you the item written on there, or we were not allowed to show our faces at the wedding." Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance. She remembered having to go purchase that dinnerware set from the most expensive chinaware store in the village. It cost the medic-nin nearly more than half her paycheck!

Ino giggled lightly and wrapped Sakura in a tight embrace, "I know about that Sakura, but I really just want you to be happy. And I want you to tell that baka that you are preg-_shit_."

_What?_

"Pregnant?"

Sakura's heart dropped; this was impossible. If only Ino kept her mouth shut-! The kunoichi turned around, a smile failing to reach her eyes, "_Ohaiyo gozaimasu_, Tsunade-shissou."

"Sakura, I am only going to ask you this once." Tsunade's eyes sharpened intensely, her voice lowering so that no one around them could hear, "Are you _pregnant?_"

Sakura nodded the slightest bit, so that it wasn't as noticeable to people around them. She kept eye contact with the Hokage, but could feel her stomach twisting in knots; Tsunade just might kill her. Right here, during the reception, in front of all these people.

"Come here-" Shissou took Sakura by her hand and led her away from the party, and Ino followed.

"Stay there Yamanaka."

"What?! But Godaime -sama!"

"I said stay there or I'll annul your wedding vows." Ino froze and shissou pulled Sakura away, passing numerous amounts of trees; until they were far enough from the celebration so that the noise was just a soft buzz.

"Do you know what you've done?"

"Tsunade-Shissou-"

"Sakura if I heard correctly, and since I'm on the damned sober train, I'm pretty sure I did- you're pregnant with Uzumaki Naruto's child?" Tsunade was livid, her face paling in anger. Whether it was from being sober for the ceremony or from Sakura's actions, the kunoichi couldn't tell.

"Y-yes, Shissou, but-"

"Sakura, do you understand that Naruto is a _jinchuuriki_?"

"Of course I do, but what does that have to do-"

"No one understands the _bijou_ completely, Sakura." Tsunade led the kunoichi to sit down on the massive staircase that made the park so well known, "We still do not know what would happen if a _bijou_ vessel were to have children- or if their chakra is passed on through you to the unborn."

She was insane, that was the only explanation Sakura could think of. Shissou was saying that because Naruto had the _Kyuubi_ in him- so would her child. It sounded ridiculous; absolutely stupid.

"Shissou, please forgive me for saying this, but you're wrong. Don't you think I would feel someone else's power in my chakra? Especially power from the _Kyuubi no Yoko_?" Sakura stood up and looked down to her very faintly protruding abdomen (thankfully it was only the 7th week of her pregnancy and the fetus was barely larger than the size of a grape) and placed her palm against it, "I know this sounds silly, but deep down I know that this boy or girl who's growing inside of me…" she couldn't finish her words.

"Sakura," The Godaime stood, "I'm sorry I was rude, but you have to understand my position here. If you were to give birth to a child of a _jinchuuriki_- one that didn't have the proper seals on them, it might be the loophole that _kitsune _needs to be released from his prison." Tsunade shissou paused and sighed, her frustration clearly fading, "But you're right. It was wrong of me to jump the gun in thinking you could not sense the demon power in your own body. Are you _sure _you can't sense anything?"

Sakura nodded, her chakra was normal; there was no possibility that the _Kyuubi's _chakra was in her.

"But hear me on this, and you _know_ that I'm right. If word gets out about Naruto having a child- it is just the bait someone needs to bring him to his knees. They can threaten him with slaughtering his family now." Tsunade shook her head and tried to smile lightly, "But…I suppose I should congratulate you two at the very least. Where was that boy the last time I saw him? Probably competing with Chouji at the buffet-"

_NO!_ "Um, Shissou!"

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Uh…Naruto…doesn't exactly…"

Tsunade's eyes widened briefly, "He doesn't know does he?" Sakura shook her head and the Godaime groaned, "I need a drink."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Finally chapter four. I want to thank my Beta Reader, Rayestar!  
**

***Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto. And this is a mature read-kiddies be warned.**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

"Godaime-sama, where did you get that?"

"Shizune, I haven't had a drink for 12 hours. That's long enough."

Sakura sat at a large table with Tsunade-shissou, Shizune, Hinata, and Kiba and watched apprehensively as her teacher drank cup after cup of sake. Was she going to say anything to her about Naruto? After that much alcohol intake, would she even remember the wedding ceremony itself?

"Sakura-chan?" The pink haired woman looked up to find an anxious looking Naruto desperately trying to fix his tie. Sakura rolled her eyes and stood, batting the shinobi's hands away and straightening the red tie.

"I'm surprised you didn't wear your clothes backwards, Naruto." Her eyes remained downcast as nimble fingers strayed to fix his collar and jacket. It was unusual for him to not wear _something _orange or in the jumpsuit range. But Ino would have none of that at her own wedding. All of the groomsmen were to wear scarlet colored ties, and the bridesmaids were to wear the scarlet gowns.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." She could feel the rumble of his laughter on her fingertips. She smiled lightly and stood back, taking in his appearance. Naruto looked handsome; his hair was slightly tamed (maybe she should say it at least looked clean…), and his black tuxedo was cut to perfection.

"_Ne_, Sakura-chan? Do…Do you want to dance?" A blush came to the Uzumaki's cheeks, and Sakura could feel a pleasant chill run down her spine as his eyes met with hers.

"Do you even know how, _baka_?" Despite her words, she walked past him with a confidence that surprised not only her, but the Uzumaki as well. Maybe it was something in those cobalt blue eyes that made the kunoichi want to fulfill any desire that man had. She walked towards the center of the wooden dance platform that had been laid down the day before the reception. A light smile played on her lips even though she could feel her impatience building. Sakura knew she might have to drag him over soon if he didn't get a move on. She felt ridiculous standing alone on the dance floor while other couples swirled around to the smooth music.

"Naruto, I think she wants you to follow her." Kiba laughed, kicking the stupefied shinobi into action. "Go!"

The man stumbled towards Sakura but caught himself. He stood awkwardly in front of her, and Sakura was certain he didn't know what to do next. The kunoichi laughed and inwardly rolled her eyes at his naiveté.

"Rest your hands on my hips," she ordered. Naruto's eyes widened at her command, but he lifted his arms nonetheless and took her by her waist. The kunoichi lifted her arms to wrap her hands around his neck. This was the simplest of dances; there was no way she would try to explain anything more complex to her anxious teammate.

"I'll lead." She took a step to the right, and Naruto followed slowly, stepping on her toes ever so often. Sakura clenched her fists behind his neck, praying that she could keep her temper at bay—at least for one song. Her teammate was trying, and that was what counted, right? Sakura laughed lightly at his concentration; his blue eyes were focused intently upon their feet so as not to miss a step.

"Stop looking at your shoes, _baka_."

"But I'll step on your feet again!" Naruto was never one to give up on a challenge—no matter how difficult.

"It's fine. Besides, you're already stepping on my feet as it is. It can't get any worse." She saw the disappointed look in his eyes and was quick to mend her words. "Just…focus on my eyes and nothing else, okay? It will come naturally." Or so she hoped.

Cautiously, Naruto lifted his gaze to her and smiled; and despite the pain in her trodden feet, Sakura smiled back. It was like a natural reaction to her whenever he would smile. Well, that is, unless she was in a hellfire mood. Which was often, considering this was Naruto she was talking about. The two moved about the floor, drawing closer to each other whenever the shinobi would falter in step. His hands were warm around the kunoichi's waist, and that chill of excitement ran up and down her spine in reaction to his touch.

"I didn't know they were a couple—" Sakura's ears picked up on some of the dancers' conversation. They were most likely Civilians. What ninja in their right mind would gossip with other trained ears around? Then again, they probably wanted their words to be heard.

"I thought she liked that Uchiha boy…"

Even though she could feel the anger in the pit of her stomach roar, she never showed it. She just focused more intensely upon her dance partner's eyes, ignoring the growing murmurs. She knew that if she could hear the words, so could Naruto—but the shinobi did as he was told. He focused on her eyes and nothing else. Sakura took a deep breath, and her mind cleared of its troublesome thoughts as the two made their way about the preset dance floor. Who cared what people were saying? She was enjoying herself, and that was all that mattered. Sakura's grip relaxed behind Naruto and even tugged on the shinobi's hair playfully, triggering a smile to release on his face.

"_Ne_, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?"

"About what you said—"

"I've said a lot of things, Naruto, but what specifically?"

"You know…" He lowered his voice so that even if one of their shinobi friends were listening, it would be a strain. "About the mission…" Sakura's stomach clenched in shock, and her hands tightened their grip once more.

"And…?" Not now. Not when she felt so warm and happy in his arms. Her anger was even subsiding!

"That night." Naruto's face darkened in a deep red. "I, um…actually had a weird dream…"

_A dream?_ Is that what he remembers?

"A weird dream…" the kunoichi mumbled under her breath.

"Actually, not a dream, but it was more like…um…you and I were… Sakura-chan, I can't say it! You're gonna hit me if I do!"

"NO!" And naturally she hit the distraught man on the back of his head. "Just say it, damn it!"

"OW! OW! OW! Okay, Sakura-chan! We had sex!" Naruto flinched. It should've been coming—that iron-like fist should've been connecting, at the very least, to his cheek if not his eye. But Sakura froze in mid-step and broke down crying. She dropped her arms down from their perch on the man's shoulders and drew them close to her chest.

"N-_NANI?!_" Naruto took the kunoichi by her shoulders, shaking her lightly. "_Ne_, Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, what's wrong? I didn't mean to—" Naruto was beside himself—he didn't know what to do! An angry Sakura he could deal with, easy. But this one; a tear filled Sakura had him feeling completely helpless.

Sakura didn't know how to reply. It just seemed as if all of her bottled up emotions shot out of her in multiple gasps and cries. Now that the not-so-oblivious teammate of hers knew about their time together, she had no choice but to tell him—_WAIT_.

"You _knew_?" Sakura stopped crying instantly, and the anger that had subsided was back with vengeance.

"I—well, I tried to talk to you that morning after, but you just looked away from me! And the time after that! You ignored me! I-I-I…"

Sakura knew he was telling the truth, but she didn't care. She suffered all that time, thinking this idiot forgot they made love, but in reality—he remembered the whole damn thing! The kunoichi clenched her fist and raised it. Her blood had boiled over…

"_Na…ru…to_…._**NO BAKA**__!!!!!!!!!!!!!_" She brought her coiled arm up and connected her fist with his jaw. A pleasant crunch sounded as Naruto's body flew clear across the dance floor and landed on the grass with a thump. Sakura ran over lightning quick and dragged him up by his collar, shaking him. "If you EVER do that to me again, I'll—! ARGH!" She dropped him and stormed off, her fury still flaming.

* * *

Sakura slammed her apartment door closed, making the walls of her apartment shake dangerously. Almost immediately a hard pounding sounded on her door.

"WHAT?!" the kunoichi screamed.

"HARUNO! I told you time and time again not to slam your door! You'll be the ruin of this building, I know it!" It was her superintendent, Shiro. He was absolutely intolerable—

"SHUT UP, OLD MAN! I'M IN NO MOOD TO TALK TO YOU TODAY!" Sakura growled ferociously and pounded her feet around her living room. Let the old man try to evict her. He'd be bankrupt if it weren't for her rent. Besides, no one was home around this time anyway—who gave a crap? The kunoichi stomped over to her room and grabbed a pillow from her bed, placing it over her face. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs to maximum capacity, and let loose a satisfying scream that the pillow just couldn't muffle. Oh well, she tried to be "quiet." Damn that idiot Naruto! All of this was stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! That baka! Baka! BAKA!!!!

"_Naruto no BAKA_!!!" she screamed, throwing the pillow against her bed with a thump. Another knock sounded on her door once more; this time a softer but much more firm rap.

Sakura rushed over to the door and snapped it open. "WHAT?!"

"Billboard brow, you better tell me why you scared half of the wedding guests with your crazy stunt!"

Sakura's temper flickered. "He knew all along, pig!" She clenched her fists and pounded it into the wall. "He knew we did it. He thought that I was ignoring him because of it." She collapsed onto her knees, and in a breath her fury was extinguished. Her green eyes looked to her best friend, and a pathetic laugh escaped her. Ino was still in her wedding gown.

"What?" Ino looked down and frowned. "Well…I thought that you told him you were…you know…and something happened. So I told Shika that I would be right back."

"Shouldn't you be off on your honeymoon by now?"

"_Please_. Every night with me is a wedding night." She smirked devilishly and knelt down to eyelevel with Sakura. "Are you okay now?"

"I'm not furious at the moment if that's what you mean." Sakura was mad, yes, but no longer brimming with blind rage.

"Did you tell him how you feel?" Ino stood and dragged the kunoichi into her apartment, closing the door behind them. Sakura shook her head and plopped down onto her couch while Ino remained standing—the furniture piece would probably ruin her expensive gown.

"Sakura, in our line of work it's dangerous not to tell someone how you feel about them." A sad look came about the bride and Sakura could tell the blonde was thinking about her new spouse. "You don't know if you will see them the next day."

"Don't you think I know that, pig?"

"Well you aren't acting like it, billboard! You love him, don't you?"

"I…I…" Sakura was still struggling with herself over her feelings for Naruto. A part of her wanted to love him so much that it nearly strangled her heart. But the other part screamed that it was wrong and this was Naruto. That stupid baka, Naruto…There was no way she could ever love him like that—no way she could imagine waking up to his golden, smiling face every day. Or dream of their children running carelessly around the house while the Uzumaki held her close… or think about his scent lingering on her skin after another passionate night…

"Well, now that he knows about you two sleeping together, you can tell him about that bun in the oven." Ino didn't need to say it…Sakura knew she had to, and there was no other way around it. She was going to need to get him alone and tell him that she was almost two months along. But for the sake of it all, Sakura was so scared. How would he respond to something like that?

* * *

"I will make this quick." The Godaime's face was stern, as she usually was when sober…or drunk for that matter. Her eyes switched between the three men standing before her. "Hatake Kakashi has, for the past few months, been secretly investigating a group of rogue ninjas led by a man dubbed _The Collector_. The man, as his name suggests, collects people who have rare abilities such as the sharingan—and without a doubt is interested in acquiring a _jinchuuriki_. However, I have no choice but to use the two of you right now. Sasuke can figure out how dangerous this man is using those eyes of his, Shikamaru can formulate the plan of attack, and Naruto will wipe him out quick as possible. You three have proven throughout your years as shinobi that you are indeed qualified." Tsunade's eyes shifted between them. "And since there is no one else that I can trust with this mission—"

"What about the ANBU?" Shikamaru was unusually testy, but rightfully so. It hadn't even been one week since his vows were exchanged and already he was being dragged into a mission.

"All divisions of ANBU are preoccupied with the River country as of now. Since the fall of the Akatsuki, other dark organizations have been rising to take over the territory that those bastards previously occupied, and small wars have been sprouting all about the area. The country's leader asked for the entire ANBU's assistance, to which I strongly refused. I would not leave my village completely defenseless—but the _Daimyo_ of the Fire country overruled me. Therefore, this mission goes to you three."

The shinobi shifted uncomfortably at the thought of what was to happen. This could go in two different ways; it could be a simple retrieve and destroy mission, or it could very well end up costing their lives.

"Shikamaru, you will be staying here in Konoha, while Sasuke and Naruto will leave _immediately_ to get Kakashi back…"

* * *

Sakura Haruno stood in the middle of her apartment floor stretching out her muscles. She had had one hell of a hospital shift last night—that, in fact, didn't end until thirty minutes ago. There was a complicated surgery that seemed like only the kunoichi was capable of doing. The entire operation lasted for ten hours, and all Sakura wanted to do was knock out into sleep.

But she had resolved that morning that she would tell Naruto she was pregnant. And even though Sakura had just gotten back from her graveyard shift at work, she knew that putting it off would only deteriorate her hard built wall of confidence. She needed to tell him as soon as possible.

The kunoichi straightened out and placed her hand flat onto her stomach. "Today is the day." And she made her way out the door and onto the street, her feet carrying her towards the park where she and Naruto would practice on Fridays. She could usually find the orange clad shinobi sparring with someone or training alone around this time.

With every step, Sakura repeated her words like a mantra. She could see the park up ahead; there was no backing down now.

_Today is the day. Today is the day. Today is the day._

"Billboard brow!"

_Today is the day. Today is the day. Today is the day._

"Hey! Billboard brow!"

_Today is the—_

"SAKURA!!!!" Ino stood in front of the kunoichi, blocking her path.

Sakura looked up and frowned. "Not right now, Ino. I need to talk to Naruto."

_Today is the day. Today…is…the day._ Her mantra was losing power the longer she stood here talking with Ino.

"Well, it's a little late for that. He's gone."

_Today—_

"What?" Sakura's thoughts came to a screeching halt, "He's _what_?"

"Are deaf, billboard? I said he's gone. That idiot and Sasuke left on a mission this morning. He came to your apartment, but apparently you were still at work. So he left this with me to give to you—" Ino held out a small piece of paper and placed it into the kunoichi's hand. "He said to read it but not get mad." Sakura looked down to the scrap of parchment and closed her hand over it. She couldn't believe it—

"Well, aren't you going to read it?" Ino looked impatient—the pink haired woman was surprised her friend hadn't read the note already.

"How long?"

"How long what, billboard brow?"

"How long will he be gone?" The anger within Sakura tore against her. She felt like beating something to a pulp and curling up into a ball to cry. That stupid Naruto! She was going to tell him!_ SHE WAS GOING TO TELL HIM!_

"I don't know. Shikamaru only told me that it was a high-class mission. Apparently he's working as the intelligence." Ino was visibly torn for her friend once she realized what Sakura's intentions were. Sakura forced herself not to cry. She was a strong ninja, and it was absolutely normal for these things to happen. Yet… it seemed that no matter what Sakura did, there was always an opposing force thrashing back against her. Whenever she tried to talk to Naruto about anything related to their confusing relationship, something stood in their way. There were so many signs that they shouldn't be together…

"Sakura, before you drive yourself to the brink of an emotional breakdown, take a deep breath." Ino took hold of Sakura's shoulders and squeezed her gently. "He obviously wanted to tell you something important. So read that damn note!"

Ino was right. As much as she wanted to hate him for leaving, he did try to come and see her. And just because he was on a mission, it didn't mean she wouldn't see him again. Naruto was one of the strongest ninja in Konoha—maybe even the Fire country. "Okay." She unfolded the crinkled paper and read the messy writing scratched onto the parchment—

_**I will come back, Sakura-chan!**_

"Idiot…" She smiled and folded the letter back up, tucking it into her pocket. Her thoughts of his return were assured. No matter where Naruto was, he would come back to her, and she could tell him everything. And maybe by then, no matter how soon it might be—she would have her feelings sorted out.

* * *

"Haruno-san!"

"Yes, Kyou?" Sakura was bent over a stack of paper work writing as fast a as she possibly could. She specifically told her interns to never interrupt, or otherwise she would force them into diaper duty; for the infants as well as the older patients. Not one of the greatest jobs to do in their facility, but an honorable one nonetheless.

"Godaime-sama wants to see you immediately." The fifteen year old was one of Sakura's rather shy interns. She couldn't blame him for being worried about interrupting her—apparently she had gained the same reputation for her temper as Tsunade-shissou had.

The medic-nin's shoulders dropped in defeat. She wouldn't be able to get the paper done in time after all. "Okay." She tossed her pencil down and stood, straightening out her long white coat—a perfect cover-up for her now visibly growing stomach. She was at three months now.

"Haruno-san, what would you like me to do?" The young man was nervous, that much was obvious. She was a tough sensei, but one of the best and most requested.

"Go and turn the beds over for rooms 301 through 350. That should keep you busy. And if they ask to have their muscles massaged, do so." She saw the boy's face pale, and the kunoichi inwardly rolled her eyes. "Bring…Ichiro with you." Sakura turned back around and made her way out of the hospital towards the Hokage's office. It took her only a few minutes to get there.

"Ah, Sakura. Close the door behind you." Tsunade sat in her chair with a cup in her hand.

"Shissou, what's that?" Even though Sakura knew very well what the Godaime was drinking…

"Water. Now sit down and let your shissou talk." Tsunade took a quick gulp of her drink and clanked it down onto her desk. Sakura took a seat and waited patiently.

"I'm sending you on an extended mission." Tsunade's eyes were completely blood shot. Sakura inferred that she had been drinking for at least the past few hours. Whatever her teacher had to say, it bothered the Hokage.

"How long is extended?"

"Until after you give birth to your child." She was blunt—mostly due to her intoxication. Maybe that was another reason the woman drank so much: to help her deal with giving hard news.

Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Tsunade-shissou, with all due respect—"

"This is not a mission you can refuse, Sakura. I am ordering you as your Hokage to go." A small crinkle formed between the older woman's brows. She wasn't mad. Quite the opposite—she was pained. "This is for your own good. You are already showing, Sakura, and soon you won't be able to cover up with just a large coat."

"Shissou—" The kunoichi stood up, her fists clenched. "I cannot leave."

"You will listen to me." The indent in the Hokage's forehead deepened. "I shouldn't even be doing this—the council will get angry, but screw them. You are my student—hell with it! You are like my own daughter, which is why I won't stand for it when the village will begin to spread rumors about you and your child!" Her normally light face turned red with frustration.

"Shissou…" Sakura's voice grew hoarse and she felt the greatest urge to embrace her teacher. She knew that once her stomach would be too big to cover up, the gossiping village would indeed begin to wonder what kind of person the pink haired woman was to be pregnant out of wedlock—especially with an unknown father (at least to them). Rumors would spread, and things would take a turn for the worse. Similar to that of Naruto's childhood, Sakura would become an outcast. The kunoichi's heart swelled with emotion.

"Once you come back, you can sort out your affairs with a certain shinobi and—oh, Sakura don't cry." The Godaime walked over to her student and placed her hand on her pink head. "It's all right."

"…I'll go." Sakura sniffed, blinking away her tears. "I'll go."

"I need another drink—"

"I thought you said it was water." Sakura laughed lightly as the Hokage took a deep drink of her sake.

"When Shizune's here, it is."

"Fine." Sakura stood in front of her desk, finally composed. "Where am I going?"

"Northern gypsy territory, where your last mission's charge is. Tsunade took another large gulp of her alcohol and exhaled a heavy breath. "She actually called for a medic-nin, so this is legit. They need protection from a few rowdy, low level shinobi. They won't be a danger to you or your health—I wouldn't send you there otherwise."

"Anything else that I need to know?"

"You'll leave tonight; they will come and get you. And before you say anything about going there yourself and that you're perfectly capable—I _know_. But that Tama requested if she could come and get you." Tsunade stood and handed Sakura a scroll of instructions and stats on her targets. "She'll meet you at the gates."

* * *

"I'll send you a letter every week, okay?"

Sakura nodded and picked up her bag of supplies for her mission. She had told Ino what was happening, and her blonde friend was relieved. Ino had been worried about what the villagers were going to do to her to if they found out about her being pregnant. The two women were standing at the gates waiting for Tama to come and pick her up. It was at least a two-day journey to the gypsy village—and Sakura felt queasy thinking about the ride on the wagon. She might just tell her friend that she would prefer to walk alongside her.

"At least if Naruto comes back before you do, I can send his sorry ass up there." Ino smiled lightly, trying to distract the kunoichi from the tension that hung in the air. They knew that when Sakura came back, she would be carrying her baby with her.

"Haruno, your wagon's here." She heard the guard call to her, and sure enough, there was Tama waving warmly towards the two kunoichi. Sakura waved back and turned to Ino.

"You'll send letters, right?" She felt like a seven year old leaving for summer camp. It wasn't as if she hadn't been on such extended missions before, but it was usually with another familiar person from Konoha—like Sasuke, Naruto, or even Hinata. But this was something completely different.

"Every week, billboard," Ino repeated.

"Okay…well…bye, pig."

"_See you_ _soon_, billboard brow." Ino stressed her words, reminding that the kunoichi would be back. Sakura smiled and walked towards the wagon.

"It's good to see you again, Sakura." Tama smiled, holding out her hand to aid the woman with her knapsack. The pink haired woman declined and sat herself onto the wagon. Her stomach had settled.

"Well, this ride should be quick because we're not carrying anything." The gypsy jumped onto the driver's seat and took hold of the reins. "Ryuu is my fastest horse. We will reach my village in no time, Sakura. Then you can catch me up on your adventures."

The kunoichi smiled and reached her hand into her pocket, where Naruto's note stayed. She wrapped her fingers around the parchment and took a deep breath.

_I'll be back, Naruto. Wait for me._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to my beta reader! Would not be able to do this without you T_T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

_Sakura,_

_Hinata had her twins—two healthy boys. One has Hinata's violet hair, and the other has Kiba's wild brown. Both of them have the Hyuuga eyes. They're kinda cute for being the spawn of a dog fanatic and an introvert. No doubt those kids will have their own canine familiars soon._

_How are you coming along, billboard brow? Four months already. From your medical description,__you wrote that you're the size of an ox? I highly doubt that. Try to control your moods, Sakura. You're already crazy as it is._

_They haven't returned yet; it's been__two months since they left, and one for you. Shika still hasn't told me anything, but I know he'll crack sooner or later. It's fun interrogating him. I just hope that those two will get here and that you can come back. It has to be boring there—you already took out those pathetic low level ninjas, right? What are you doing now? Collecting herbs for the medicine man there while they dance around the fire? Or are you telling people their fortunes? Kami knows you could probably do with a real shower._

_And before you even think it—yes, I'm bored! Shikamaru left a few hours ago to report to the Hokage. He should be back by evening—then I can restart my interrogation. But for now, I guess I'll go train with Chouji today. Don't want to be in poor shape by the time you get back._

_Write to me soon. Pregnant or not, I have no problem dragging your butt back here if I don't hear from you!_

_Oh—and Happy Birthday, billboard brow! Twenty years and you're still not as hot as I am. What a shame…_

_-Ino_

_Ino,_

_It's great to hear from you again. I almost thought that you forgot about me, considering it's been almost three weeks since your last letter. I know you're busy with the flower shop and Shikamaru, but your letters are the only thing keeping me sane. And if I hear one more crack about controlling my wild pregnancy moods, I will make sure to place a curse on the next letter I send you. One that even your Shika can't break…_

_This small village here isn't horrible, but I miss the village and the Hospital—the sterile smell of cleaning products, the patients' complaints, and even the paperwork! I'm driving myself crazy here. I train everyday—low impact, of course,__as I'm coming along—in the nearby fields. I'm eating all the right foods (except for the occasional bizarre cravings…I won't go into detail), and I'm taking my prenatal vitamins. Tama has become my OBGYN—or should I say midwife? She's been delivering babies in this village almost all of her life. She gives me a weekly check-up,__and we exchange tips on our professions. And as much as you joke, pig, they do have some amazing herbs and flowers here. Some that even your shop doesn't carry. There is this one rare herb called _Adficio_ that, once consumed, drains the person of nearly all their chakra, and another called _Perpetro _that Tama uses on prematurely born babies. It helps develop their body to a normal state when given the proper dose. It's amazing! They don't even need an incubator with all of these herbs they carry. Their facility is perfect._

_I'll stop now before I bore you with anymore medical details, pig._

_Nothing about the mission? They haven't even returned? I could strangle those two! What kind of mission could be taking them this long? Shikamaru said it was a high classed mission—so maybe, an A-class escort for a politician? No, then why have Shikamaru for something that could be done by one shinobi? It has to be something where they would need his planning expertise and those two working together in the field. Well, I should get going. I'll write to you later._

_Oh,__and thanks for the flowers. My birthday was so much better when I got them._

_-Sakura_

* * *

_Ino, _

_I guess you're too busy to write your best friend a letter. Well, pig,__everything is just fantastic here. I'm swelling up like Chouji after an all-you-can-eat hour at Ichiraku, my feet are killing me, and I want to punch every stupid man that I see for having the gall to make women go through this stupid pain. Why haven't you answered my letters? Have you found out anything about those idiots? Or are you too busy rolling around with Shika? May I remind you that I'm bigger than an ox now? And yes, from your last letter—which was TWO MONTHS ago—it is a damned medical expression. If I say it is, then it is!_

_Okay…maybe I'm a little bit on the edge, but I have every right to be. Pig, what is going on? Why haven't you answered my letters? Please write to me soon._

_-Sakura_

* * *

_Ino,_

_I know in my last letter I was going ballistic, but I had reason. _

_I haven't heard from you in a while. Is everything all right? Send out a letter as soon as you get this, okay,__pig? _

_-Sakura_

_

* * *

  
_

_Ino, _

_What's going on? I've written you at least 20 letters with absolutely no reply. If I don't get a response from you in the next couple of days, "mission" or not, I'm coming back. Pig, I swear to Kami if you don't reply…I might…just write back, okay?!_

_-Sakura_

_

* * *

  
_

Sakura sat down on the edge of her small hut and rubbed her aching feet. It had been four months since she left Konoha on an assigned "mission" and over two months since Ino sent her a letter. The pink haired woman must have written everyday to her blonde haired friend in hopes that she would get at least one reply. But nothing had come. No word on Hinata and her boys, nothing on Ino and her newlywed man, and most definitely zilch on Sasuke and Naruto. The only good thing about being here in this village: no nightmares. She hadn't had one single nightmare since she came here. But it wasn't as if she rested easy.

Sakura had spent countless nights tossing and turning in her bed, her mind plagued with thoughts of the orange clad shinobi. Her feelings were still contorted, but she knew that the second she saw him, her mind would finally stop being so irritatingly hesitant. She knew she was physically attracted to him—what woman wouldn't want a well toned ninja by their side? But there was always that infuriating line that she seemed to be straddling…the one of friendship and love. But the moment Ino's letters had become nonexistent, Sakura had to put her heart on the backburner. Something was going on with that blonde kunoichi, and it was only two days ago that Sakura had resolved to throw this ridiculous mission out of the window. She was going back to Konoha to see what the hell was going on.

"Sakura-nee-chan!" A small boy of eight came running to her and wrapped his thin arms around her legs. "Nee-chan!!"

"Ah, Daisuke." Sakura's green eyes softened slightly. "What's wrong?"

When Sakura had first come to Tama's small home, the little boy had become smitten with her. Her older friend had explained that he had lost his older sister to the rogue ninja a few months back, and the kunoichi's eyes looked similar to the deceased girl's. It took only a day to wipe out those scumbags. Tsunade wasn't kidding when she said they were low-level. A genin level shinobi could have slaughtered them.

"A letter just came for you!" The little boy held up a small scroll that wasn't the usual size of Ino's letters, and Sakura felt her stomach drop. She took the letter and quickly unrolled it to read immediately—

_Sakura, _

_Stay there. I'm coming._

_-Ino_

Sakura stared down at the quickly written note, completely dumbfounded. She was coming here? What could have happened? The kunoichi's mind raced—letters took two days to reach them. Ino might very well be here before nightfall if she left right after sending the letter. Sakura walked out of the small hut that had become her temporary home in the gypsy village. The community was small, roughly the size of the Konoha Hospital. They lived in their wagons and smaller sized huts like the one Sakura resided in. The village was minute but by no means poor. They chose to live this type of life because that was the way of their culture. Who knew how much money they made every week off of their exotic herbs, spices, and flowers.

"Nee-chan, are you okay?" Daisuke asked.

Sakura's eyes scanned the area, passing over the wagons, the hyperactive children, and the gardens filled with fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. No Ino. The southern forest was the most direct way here from Konoha, so she could meet her blonde friend there—

"Daisuke, I need to go take a walk. But promise me that we can play some shogi later?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, I'll see you then—"

* * *

She had to run fast—there was absolutely no time to waste. Ino didn't want anyone to know what she was really doing. She told Shikamaru that she would be going to stay the weekend at Hinata's to help her with the twins, and thankfully Hinata agreed to go along with the lie. The blonde kunoichi just prayed to kami that no one really questioned the poor woman. She had a hard time lying to her friends, but at least Ino knew Hinata would try her best.

_Only two more miles…_

She carried little, knowing that this mission required nothing but her person. But despite the lack of weapons this required, this was to be the most difficult mission the kunoichi had ever done. Ino inhaled deeply, refusing to let her emotions get the better of her. She saw the green clearing up ahead and focused her pale blue eyes on her target. Ino knew that she would be waiting for her; Sakura wasn't stupid. She only wished that what she had to do didn't end up destroying their friendship. Or Sakura…

* * *

Sakura stood at the edge of the south forest, her ears and eyes opened wide. She could sense Ino was closing in, less than a mile away. Her heart clenched at the thought of finally seeing a familiar face. One that she hadn't seen in ages…

Sakura looked down at herself, a sense of self-consciousness overcoming her. She wore her green amulet necklace given by Tama and a large white dress that did nothing to hide her blooming womb. She was seven months along now, and it was becoming all too real to Sakura that there was a child in her. Even though Tama explained that she could tell whether it was a boy or a girl, Sakura decided that she didn't want to know until the birth. She would hope that Naruto would arrive in Konoha before she delivered and she could tell him that they were expecting. Then they could find out about their child together. She had planned it out so many times that it seemed like a memory instead of her imagination. Sakura would finally know how she felt about him. In just a couple of months, a baby would be born and no matter the outcome, that child would have a loving family. It would work out somehow…

"BILLBOARD BROW!!" Ino broke through the last part of the forest, and the kunoichi's heart leapt. Sakura smiled as all of her anger, embarrassment, fear, worries, and those ridiculous emotions were thrown aside. She ran to her best friend and latched her arms around her.

"Ino-pig, it's so good to see you!" Sakura said.

Ino took a few steps back and her eyes widened. "Kami, Sakura…you were right. You _are_ the size of an ox; maybe even bigger."

"Watch it, _Nara_," Sakura spat, her not so easily tamed anger flickered within her. "I have no problem kicking your ass in this state."

"Yeah, yeah," Ino said.

Sakura rested her hands on her stomach, an action that just came to her naturally now, and looked over her friend. Ino hadn't changed a bit; she looked a bit ragged and tired from her journey, but that was to be expected. It calmed the woman to know that nothing drastic had changed between the two.

"So tell me, why haven't you answered any of my letters?"

Suddenly the blonde's face changed entirely. Her already pale skin lost any color it had before, and her light blue eyes dropped down to the ground. "Oh…"

"Oh?" Sakura asked. "Ino, what's wrong? You came all the way here to tell me something, right?" The pink haired kunoichi's voice wavered slightly in nervousness. Something was troubling her friend. And it appeared that it wasn't going to be anything good.

Ino brought her gaze back up to Sakura and nodded. "Sakura, is there someplace where we can sit and talk? This might…well…"

"Y-Yeah, let's go…"

* * *

Sakura led Ino to a seat on her cot and immediately closed the door to the small hut, giving them some privacy.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me, Ino?" she said.

Ino took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her long blonde tresses, her nervousness obvious to the pregnant kunoichi. Sakura sat beside her friend, and the bed sunk in deeply with her weight. Suddenly that familiar pain in her stomach sparked in her and she winced. "Ouch…"

"What? What's wrong?" Ino took hold of Sakura's arm, and her eyes scanned the kunoichi's body for any sign of injuries. But Sakura shook her head, calming the blonde down.

"The baby kicked. He's really strong."

"Oh…" Ino sat back, her face returning to that paler shade of white. "Sakura…" The woman took a deep breath. "I know what Shika's mission is."

"You do?!" Sakura sat up as straight as she could without causing too much discomfort to her. "What is it? How did you find out? I didn't think Shika would tell you—"

"He didn't." Ino reached into her pocket and pulled out a sheet of crinkled paper. "I found this. I was looking through his files, and I came across it. I almost got caught, but thankfully I'm a trustworthy wife…" Her wit didn't go unnoticed by her friend as she smoothed the paper out and held it in front of Sakura, letting her read it. It looked like some notes written in Shika's careful script.

**Name: Unknown**

**Alias: The Collector**

**Age: 42**

**Weight: 115 kg**

**Height: 165.1 cm**

**Unusual Characteristics: Likes to collect people **

**with interesting power types like the **

**Sharingan or Shaman types. **

**Special Techniques: Unknown**

**Shinobi group consists of ****15**_20_** men as of ****last month**_now_**.**

**None of the shinobi seem to have any known powers—possibly **

**casualties****?**

**Possible Headquarters: ****River country**

**West Fire country**

**East Fire country**

_North East__ Fire country_

**Known hostages: Hatake Kakashi**

"The Collector?" Sakura said.

"Apparently they're after this guy who has a growing group of rogue ninjas. Kakashi must have been kidnapped or something, and the Hokage sent those two in, using Shikamaru as an intelligence agent."

"But what about the ANBU?"

"I don't know…the Hokage must have had some reason to assign those three this mission." Ino folded the paper and put it aside.

"Kakashi-sensei's name is on that. Were they supposed to get him back? Is he still alive?" Sakura took the folded paper and scanned it once more for any other clues.

"He's alive. Sasuke brought him back a few weeks ago…" Ino's voice lowered to barely above a whisper. "He was in bad shape, but he's in stable condition now. Tsunade-sama's watching over him herself." Sakura sighed in relief for a brief moment before she caught on to the entire sentence; then her eyes widened in surprise.

"Sasuke came back?" Her mind raced at the thought of finally being able to go back home. "Then Naruto's back!" She stood up and ran over to her desk and grabbed her knapsack, throwing her things into it. She could go home! She would finally tell Naruto how she truly felt about him and that he was going to become a father. Her heart felt like it was snowballing in an overload of emotions. Oh, _Kami_, it felt so good to just think about seeing that stupid Naruto—Sakura could barely contain herself. Images of that idiot saying _Sakura-chan_, smiling that toothy grin, and even eating ramen made her heart skip. Maybe, just maybe she really did...in fact…love him. Sakura smiled to herself as she reached into her pocket to hold onto the note he left for her before leaving.

_Naruto no baka…_

Her heart fluttered at the thought of going back to Konoha and seeing him in all of his golden glory. "Ino, we should get going before they leave again. They still have to take out that Collector, right? Oh, I'll kill Naruto if he leaves before I get there!" Sakura clenched her fist around the strap to her bag. She had to calm down. First things first: she needed to tell Tama that she was going back, say good-bye to Daisuke, and apologize for not making good about the shogi game promise. But she could come back later to play with—

"Sakura…" Ino's voice was a rough whisper, and the kunoichi immediately turned around. The blonde was near tears. Sakura walked over to Ino and placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Ino, what's wrong?" Sakura's happiness faltered slightly, but somehow even Ino's tears couldn't sway her joy. "Why are you crying? I get to go home, pig! This is _good_ news. Or have you come to hate me again?" The kunoichi cocked an eyebrow and waited for any sort of smirk to appear. But her blonde friend's face only contorted in more sadness. Suddenly Sakura's river of happiness started to dry out…

"Naruto's…" Ino's eyes began to water. "He…Sasuke…"

Sakura shook her head. "What are you going on about, Ino pig?"

"Sakura…you can't come back." Ino swallowed deeply and clenched her fists. "It will…"

"What?!" Sakura took a step back, her anger flaring. "What do you mean I can't come back, PIG?!" She tightened her hold on her bag, her knuckles turning even paler than Ino's face.

"Naruto…he…"

"WHAT ABOUT HIM?!" Sakura wanted to punch out every single tooth her friend held in that fat mouth of hers. How dare she say that she couldn't come home?! After all those months of being alone in this unfamiliar place waiting to give birth to that idiot's child! HOW DARE SHE—

"HE'S DEAD, SAKURA!"

Every muscle in Sakura's body went numb. It felt as if someone had ripped her lungs out from her throat and threw them to the ground beneath her. "Wh-wha-?" Her words were haphazardly spoken and her mind just couldn't compute anything correctly. What just happened? What did she just say? Wha-what?

"Sasuke came back with Kakashi _alone_. He said Naruto was killed by him…_The Collector_." Ino's words were shaky, but they packed such a powerful blow. Sakura felt her chest tighten and her face twist in agony. Her breath shot out of her in painful gasps and cries.

"NO!" she grabbed her bag and threw it across the room and straight through the wall, a loud crack vibrating in her ears. "**NO!**" The tightening in her chest spread down into her abdomen, and she clenched her fists. "You're _LYING_!" Her vision of the future came crashing down around her in one horrible moment. This couldn't be happening. Naruto would never be so reckless as to get himself killed. He would never—

_I will come back, Sakura-chan!_

"**LIAR!!!!**" Sakura clenched her fist and hammered it through a nearby table like it was a twig. It shattered into splinters, dust coating every surface around the two women. The pain in her body was growing, and Sakura could only think it was because of that stupid idiot! Damn him! Damn him, that _baka_!

"Sakura…" Ino stood up, the tears in her eyes all too truthful. The pink haired woman turned away, clutching at her stomach, the pain growing more and more. It hurt so much, what was going on? But it seemed to be that her mind just refused to acknowledge anything; not unless she was to wake up and find that this was some horrible nightmare. Sakura latched onto the nearest chair, her tears mixing with sweat.

"Naruto…" she called out in a painful breath. Her muscles tensed up, and a shock shot through her body. The kunoichi's knees buckled, and she fell to the ground as the pain in her abdomen became too much for her to hold.

"SAKURA!!!!"

* * *

Ino rushed to her friend, grabbing onto her before the pink haired woman could fall face first—_stomach_ first. What was wrong with Sakura? Ino felt a cool liquid pooling beneath them and looked down to see a clear fluid pouring from her friend. Ino held onto the shaking woman and brushed her pink locks away from her sweaty face.

_No…this can't…_

"Oh, _Kami, _please- _HELP_! SOMEBODY!!! SOMEBODY HELP!!!!!!" Her breath shot out of her in quick rasps, panic taking control. "SOMEBODY—_PLEASE_!!!!"

"Sakura?" Someone rushed in through the door, a woman a few years older than Ino. She had dark hair and dark eyes…she was that woman from before. She must be Tama!

"Please help! She's gone into labor!"

The gypsy's eyes widened, and she rushed over, crooking her arms under Sakura's arms and lifted her up. "Get her legs—we need to get her to my place immediately!"

Ino snapped out of her panic and immediately followed orders, taking hold of her friend's legs and hoisting her up. The two women rushed out of the hut, and Ino followed Tama down the dirt path through the small village and towards a larger sized cabin. The villagers around them jumped up in surprise and began bustling about them, shouting out in an unfamiliar language. The two women rushed through the doors of the small cabin and entered into what seemed to be a small medical hut.

"Let's put her onto the table, quickly. She's losing consciousness." Tama and Ino brought Sakura over to the large metal table and placed the woman down gently but swiftly. Ino looked around, not knowing what do to. She felt absolutely helpless—those years of her sensei teaching her basic medical knowledge flew out of the window.

"Get that pitcher of water. I need you to keep her temperature down." Tama grabbed an array of jars and bottles from a counter and placed them next to Sakura. Ino grabbed the dark pitcher filled with water and rushed over to her friend.

"Sakura? Sakura, can you hear me?" Tama took hold of Sakura's shoulders and lightly shook her. "Sakura, I need you to stay with me. You've gone into labor, and in order to make sure your baby can live through this, I need you to keep your eyes open."

"Naruto…" Sakura said. Ino's heart almost broke into a million pieces. This was her fault…but what choice did she have? She needed to pull herself together; if not for herself, then at least for Sakura.

"Sakura, if you don't stay with me, the baby that you and Naruto made won't have a chance." Ino clutched Sakura's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Please, you need to stay awake." Ino grabbed a towel and poured water from the pitcher directly onto the cloth and began to wipe Sakura's sweaty face.

"Okay, Sakura, this is what we've been talking about the past few months," Tama said. Ino looked up to see her garbed in an apron and face mask, bustling about the room mixing the herbs and powders from the jars.

"Naruto…_NARUTO_ _NO BAKA_!" the woman wailed, squeezing Ino's hand painfully. "Ino, I'll kill him!!!! I'll kill him!!!" She was in hysterics but she was at the very least awake.

"Good, keep her going. I don't care if she's lucid, so long as she isn't unconscious." Tama walked over to stand in front of Sakura, her eyes in complete focus.

"TAMA!" A woman rushed in and began speaking with a quick, foreign tongue. Tama spoke back in the same language, her voice firm and commanding. The other woman nodded and bustled about the same jars that Tama was messing with before.

"What are those?" Ino nodded towards the containers.

"Herbs my people use to help with the delivery and the baby. This child is two months early and will need to consume the _Perpetro_ root mixed with the leaves of the _Vigoratus _plant." Tama paused, struggling with herself. "That's if Sakura makes it through this." Tama pulled on Sakura's clothing and propped her legs up, checking her status.

"So the baby will be fine?" Sakura's hoarse voice croaked from below, and Ino felt her sweaty hand tighten its grip.

"Yes. Just follow my orders, okay, Sakura-chan? You're already completely dilated—the baby is on its way."

"The baby…"

"Yes, Sakura, your baby. Now when I give you the word, I want you to push as hard as you can, all right?"

"I d-don't know if I can."

"Come on, billboard brow," Ino cried, "I know you can do this!" Ino wiped the sweat from her friend's face and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "Do this for the baby! He needs a mom!" Ino's mind was so boggled right now with the rush of everything around her. Her best friend was giving birth, and if she didn't pull through this… Ino didn't know if she could ever get over it.

"Okay, Sakura…" Tama leaned towards the lower half of the kunoichi's body, her eyes concentrating. "…PUSH!!!"

"aaaaaAaaaaAaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

Sakura was in the worst pain of her life. It felt as if she was trying to push a watermelon through her canal. Her thoughts were so distorted that she was amazed she could speak. But despite her blurred mind, she knew that if she didn't follow Tama's orders, she would lose her baby. Naruto's baby…

_Naruto…_

NO! She couldn't think about it. She needed to shut down that area of her mind right now and close that part of her heart. Focus on the baby. She needed to just focus on the baby. Push. _Push_. THE PAIN!!!

"I HATE THIS!!!!! DAMN HIM!!! WHHHHHHYYYYYY???!!!" Sakura's fury raged, mixing with her pain and loneliness. Push. PUSH. _PUSH_!

"I can see the head! You're doing great, Sakura-chan! I need a couple more big pushes!" Tama said.

Sakura took huge gulps of air and tightened her hold on Ino's hand. "OW! BILLBOARD BROW!" Ino cried, but Sakura ignored her. Ino's grip was the only thing latching her to physical reality. The blonde would have to deal with it. _PUSH!_

"One more big one, Sakura-chan. Your baby's almost out!"

A deep cry emitted from her throat as Sakura gave her all into the last push, knowing that her strength was at its limit. She could only pray that the baby would be okay. She dropped her head down against Ino's arm and closed her eyes. Her body was so tired…

"Sakura!!!" she heard Tama's voice cry out.

"Billboard brow, don't you DARE leave me, you hear?!"

The voices were fading fast, and there was a light behind her eyes growing brighter and brighter. Her body felt numb, and her thoughts were dulling down. The pain that she felt in her heart and in her body trickled away more and more the closer she moved towards that bright and warm light. Is this what it felt like to die? …To leave all her loved ones behind as she stepped beyond the physical realm? But what about—

Then there was a crisp clear cry that broke through. She snapped her eyes open to find Tama holding a purplish blue crying mass in her hands.

"SAKURA!" Sakura felt Ino wrap her arms around her. "I thought I lost you!" Sakura coughed in reaction to her hold, but had no strength to push the blonde away.

"Bring me the potion!" Tama said to the other gypsy. Sakura blinked her heavyweight eyelids and watched the two take her baby to clean up: tying the umbilical cord, washing the baby, and force feeding a dark green liquid. That must be the plant concoction. Then Sakura watched her gypsy friend press her hands upon the baby's stomach, and her palms lit up in a white light.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ino spoke the words before Sakura could get to them.

"I am speeding up the process of the potion."

"So what are you, some kind of magical medicine woman in this village?"

"I suppose you could say that. My potion making is the only thing I truly excel at. I can speed up the process of the potions I concoct, but I guess any medic-nin could do that."

"Is the baby going to be okay?" Sakura asked; her voice was barely above a whisper. She was so tired—it seemed as if she had been running for hours on end.

Tama took a blanket from her helper and wrapped the baby up. "Well, so long as your child drinks the root and leaf mixture every day for the next two weeks, everything should be just fine. I'll help the development along. It would normally take two months, but this is a special case."

"Special case?" Ino asked.

"The baby seems to have an extremely high level of chakra, beyond anything I've ever encountered. I just want to stabilize the body as fast as possible so that it can contain the energy."

High levels of chakra? Sakura remembered Tsunade's warnings from before about the _kyuubi_, but the kunoichi knew that there was absolutely no trace of his energy within her. This might be just a fluke of innate power…

Tama turned around and walked toward Sakura. "You need to drink some of the _Vigoratus_ too, so that your body can recover quickly. Now, would you like to meet your _son_?" The cries from the baby were loud and piercing, but it was the most beautiful sound to Sakura's ears.

"Oh…" Sakura looked to Ino, her eyes tearing up. "I have a son…" Her lip trembled as she weakly held her arms out to hold her baby for the first time. Tama placed the tiny boy into her arms, and the loud cries died down as he looked at the new person. The moment Sakura's eyes connected with this little one, she fell in love. Her maelstrom of emotions calmed suddenly as every fiber of her being focused upon this tiny little boy resting in her weary arms. She could barely see it through his scrunched up eyes, but the irises were indeed the purest green, and on the top of his head was a tiny tuft of blond locks, sticking out in every which way. His skin was reddish (as was for most newborns), but she knew from the look of it that it would never be as pale as hers. It was the perfect combination of Sakura and Naruto…at least for the kunoichi.

She smiled down at the baby, and he smiled a wide gummy grin before falling asleep in her arms. It made the woman's heart swell. He was extremely small, as expected from being in her womb for only seven months, but it didn't matter. This was her child that she and Naruto had brought into the world. And this was the closest she would ever be to Naruto again. Sakura knew with every fiber of her being that no one would ever sever this tie that just formed between them. Ever.

"So what are you going to name him?" Ino smiled happily, her eyes watering as she watched Sakura and her son.

"Toru." The name left Sakura's lips faster than she thought of it. Somehow, the name just seemed to fit the little one.

"Toru?" Ino rolled her eyes and smiled. "I thought you would at least go with something a little prettier… like Yuki or Kei." Of course Ino would want some kind of flourished pretty boy name. Sakura could just picture Ino's kids becoming the ninja academy princes with their own fan clubs… She growled, and her eyes darkened.

"Are you making fun of my child's name?" Not even an hour old, and he was being picked on.

"Not with a mom like you. I don't think anyone would have the balls to pick on a child of yours."

Sakura looked down towards the newly named boy, and she held back her tears. "Uzumaki Toru."

_Welcome to the world…_

He would grow up without his father, but that didn't mean Sakura wouldn't tell him every day about the man that made her heart race with just one smile, about Konoha's greatest shinobi to have ever lived. It hurt Sakura to just think about that orange clad idiot, but it was worth it for the one she held so tightly.

"All right, I think the two of you need your sleep. You have a lot of recovering to do." Tama smiled and took hold of Toru, placing him into a small padded crib. "It's going to take a couple of weeks for him to gather the strength of a regular newborn. And you're going to be in the same condition, I'm afraid, Sakura-chan. You'll be sleeping here most of the time."

"I'll stay with you." Ino gripped Sakura's hand tightly.

"No, pig," Sakura said, "I know very well that you probably lied to Shika about where you were going. So you better go back before he finds out about where you actually went." The kunoichi knew that she was right. Ino was sneaky, but not enough to where she could fool her genius of a husband for too long. He would catch on to her plan.

"But…" Ino looked torn as her eyes strayed between her best friend and the newborn Toru.

"It's all right, pig. Just as long as you keep sending me letters. I'll be perfectly fine." Sakura didn't know if her words were all that true, but she hoped that they held some merit. It would be only too comforting to have her friend beside her, but it would also be dangerous to let Shika find out about Ino's knowledge of the mission.

"I'm visiting again in a week, do you hear me?" the blonde said.

"That would be too soon, pig. Besides…I'll come back in a month."

Ino's eyes widened once she realized that Sakura actually could come back. She had finished her "mission", and there was no reason for her to stay anymore.

"O…okay." Ino looked from Toru to Sakura and sighed. "You know, he looks exactly like him. The only thing of yours he has is those eyes."

Sakura smiled. "I know."

Ino played lightly with the small tuft of hair on Toru's head and laughed lightly. "You're lucky, Toru. You got away scot-free with that regular forehead of yours."

"PIG!"

"I know, I know. Go to sleep, billboard brow. I'll be gone by the time you wake up." Ino embraced her in a tight hug. "And I'll be waiting for you."

Sakura nodded, her weariness overcoming her. She smiled to Ino and nodded to Tama before sleep overcame her.

* * *

_Sakura was crouched in a cold and dark room, her kunai in hand. He was in front of her, she could sense it. But there was no way in hell he would get his filthy hands on—_

"_Sakura-chan."_

_The kunoichi's heart leapt as Naruto's voice echoed throughout the room. She flicked her head in all directions, trying to ascertain which direction it came from, but it was useless. But… he was alive! He was ALIVE. So the man hadn't killed him._

_Suddenly a light shone down in front of Sakura and illuminated a short,_ _portly figure with dark,_ _beady eyes and a sickening grin. And in the man's clutches was a certain bloodied shinobi. Sakura jumped to her feet and released the kunai in her hand. The man chuckled and stepped aside as if the weapon were moving at half speed. The kunoichi growled and circled around the man. Her gaze focused on Naruto to see a glazed look in his eyes. What happened to him?_

"_Let him go, you asshole!"_

"_Such a beautiful woman with such a dirty mouth. Why don't you try asking me nicely?"_

"_.GO." Her words were spoken through her clenched teeth—her temper began to snap. "Or so help me—"_

"_Tsk, tsk, my cherry blossom. You've been naughty. Looks like I have to teach you a lesson." The__man's pupils widened, blacking out his sclera completely. Suddenly Sakura felt her muscles weaken and her body drain of any power she held. She collapsed onto the ground, struggling to find the strength to breathe. What was he doing to her?_

"_Mmmm…yummy," she heard that disgusting voice say. She looked to Naruto and found his eyes becoming more lucid. He struggled in the man's grasp as soon as he saw the kunoichi on the floor._

"_Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out to her,__but she was too drained to respond._

"_Get the child. He should be a sufficient meal for me."_

_No! Sakura inwardly screamed. Not Toru! NO! TAKE ME!_

"_And kill the jinchuuriki."_

_**NO!!!**_

* * *

Sakura's eyes snapped open as she woke up in an all too familiar sheen of sweat. Her nightmares had come back with a vengeance. This time, she knew who the villain was: _The Collector_. Sakura's heart pounded relentlessly not with fear, but fury. She had never felt so much anger in all twenty years of life.

Her green eyes darted towards the window of the large medical cabin and she sighed; it was early morning. How long had she been asleep? It could have been hours—maybe days? She turned her head and found that close to her side lay her slumbering baby. He looked much healthier than the last time she held him; the potion must be working—along with Tama's magic. Little Toru's chakra was indeed strong; she could feel it pulsing from his tiny body in huge waves.

She would have to protect him. She was the only one he had in this world, and there was no way in hell anyone was going to get their filthy hands on him. Sakura didn't know how much truth her dreams held, but she wasn't going to ignore them. Whoever this Collector was…he was going pay. Sakura just might take a page from the book of Sasuke…and enact her revenge.

She would have to act stealthily. And she would need all of Tama's help. No matter how much her body ached, she was a shinobi and pain was nothing new to her. Sakura sat up and looked around the room and found Tama resting in a chair not too far from the mother and child. The kunoichi stretched her tense muscles and slowly forced her body to stand.

"Tama," she said, "Tama, wake up." Sakura winced as her sore muscles stretched out. She took a few steps towards the gypsy and shook her awake. "Tama, wake up. I need your help."

"Hmmm?" the older woman groaned sleepily. "Sakura-chan?" She opened her eyes and blinked several times.

Sakura took in gulps of air, her breathing labored. "Tama, I need you to heal me with your potion as much as possible. The same with Toru."

That was apparently the magical phrase to wake a gypsy up. Tama snapped up in her chair, her eyes wide. "What? What's wrong? Sakura-chan, what is it?"

"I'm going to take Toru to Konoha. But I'll be back, don't worry. Right now, I need you to heal both of us as much as you can."

"What are you trying to do?" Tama stood up and looked into Sakura's lucid green eyes. The kunoichi was dead serious.

"I can't tell you, but please do as I say. This is important to me."

"Sakura," Tama said, "I can't give you your complete strength back in just a matter of minutes." Tama handed Sakura a glass of a light green potion, and she gulped it down. Instantly her muscles relaxed and her body was filled with energy.

"Give us as much as you can. We only have until the afternoon. I don't have any time to waste." Sakura walked over to Toru and picked him up for the second time in her life. "Just speed the process up and then give Toru however much potion he needs."

An indent formed between Tama's concentrated eyes. "You'll need to drink your part of the tonic twice a day. Toru needs to drink his every four hours. Understand?"

Perfect! The pink haired woman smiled gratefully and nodded in response. Tama sighed and began to grab the needed supplies for the two. She collected several large bottles of the liquids and placed them into bags. Hopefully Sakura could find the strength to carry them back.

"Sakura-chan," Tama said as she continued to pack, "when I was asleep, I dreamed about that blond boy…Naruto, was it?"

Sakura held onto the still sleeping Toru and forced her mind not to delve too deep into thoughts about Naruto, but she nodded numbly. She looked to Tama to see the woman's eyes locked onto her.

"You are in love with him, no?"

Sakura's heart skipped and she bit her lower lip trying furiously not to cry. She would turn her tears into fury. _Tears into fury… _She didn't answer Tama, but the gypsy continued on.

"He loves you."

_Loved me._

"He knows you are worried about him."

_Knew…_

"Whatever you are doing… do it quickly. He needs your help."

"Stop it," Sakura said.

"He is going to die if you do not hurry."

"Stop it! He's already dead!" Sakura's voice stirred Toru awake, and the baby began to cry. Sakura rubbed her hand soothingly across his back and began to sway back and forth. Her temper was flaring dangerously.

Tama handed Sakura a bottle of the dark green potion made for the boy, and the kunoichi snatched it from the woman's hand.

"I do not know what you have heard, Sakura-chan… but he is _alive_. And he will need your help. Otherwise his future will shift into the dark."

"I thought your expertise was in potions, not fortune telling," the kunoichi said. Sakura turned around, not willing to look at Tama. How could she play with her like this?! Toru was the only thing keeping her temper at bay and preventing the woman from killing the gypsy. She took a deep breath and fed the baby. The boy slowly stopped crying and looked up to Sakura, his emerald eyes as wide as saucers as he drank. He could sense something was wrong.

"It is normal for my people to see the future. Our dreams show us the many paths that we may choose."

"Then why are you seeing my future?"

"Because it involves my death."

Sakura's hand froze in motion on Toru's back. "What?!"

"In a matter of days, a ninja group will come looking for me." Tama's eyes glazed over, and her face darkened. "They will take me to their camp, and my life will end there. I have seen Naruto's path of life cross mine at that point. And yours crosses with his."

"You-You're…" Sakura pulled the bottle away from her child and began to put Toru down but the baby started to fuss. Sakura picked him up once more and placed her hand against his back, rubbing soothing circles about his soft skin. Naruto was alive? But…Tama was going to die? _What the hell was going on?!_

"I know you're confused right now, but this is important—"

"You can't die!"

"I _must_ in order for your family to live."

"WHY?! Naruto is dead! And if it weren't for Toru I would be as well!" Sakura knew deep within her that if it weren't for the child in her arms she would've stopped living the moment she heard about Naruto. She would not have found any more reason to deal with this stupid world.

"Sakura, you need to believe me. Just do as you were planning, and you will see. Now, we must hurry. I have until the afternoon, correct?"

* * *

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Ino stirred in her slumber; she had only gone to sleep a few hours ago. She had kept Shika up all night, and it was totally worth it. Now there was some stupid thing interrupting her precious beauty sleep.

Knock.

Knock.

_KNOCK._

"Ino, can you get that?" Shika mumbled from beneath the covers. He liked to sleep with the blankets covering him from head to toe, so as to block out any "troublesome" noises and lights.

"Why do I have to?" Ino grabbed her pillow and covered her head. She was exhausted from their hours of—

"Too troublesome…"

Ino growled and kicked him from under the sheets. "You owe me for this. Tomorrow night. Handcuffs. No safe word." The blonde could hear her husband mumble in agreement. He would pay.

Knock, knock, knock.

"I'M COMING! I'M COMING!" _You stupid bastards…disturb my sleep? I'll kill you. _Ino stomped to the door clad in only her black lingerie, but who cared? It wasn't like she was insecure about her body like most women in this city. She knew she looked good.

"What is it?" Ino opened the door and screamed.

"SHHHH!!!!" Sakura rushed into the apartment past her and whirled around. "Is Shikamaru asleep?"

"Sakura! You're here! I thought you were coming in a month! Why are you here in middle of the night? And—" Ino stopped mid-sentence the second she saw the bundle strapped to Sakura's chest. Only a tuft of blonde hair was sticking out from her bundle, but Ino knew that her son Toru was slumbering in that blanket.

"What's going on, billboard brow?"

"I need you to watch over Toru," Sakura said.

"What?" It was way too early in the morning to comprehend something this complicated. Ino rubbed the back of her head and her eyes. "You want me to what?" Ino could feel her brain slowly slipping into reality, contemplating what the pink haired woman just said.

"I need you to take care of Toru. I'm going after Naruto."

That was the moment Ino's mind came to a screeching halt. "Go after Naruto…" She was walking on eggshells now. "Sakura…he's…"

"Alive. I know it. Tama had a dream about it, and she saw him. She knows he's alive. And I believe her...I think. I'm going to go to _The Collector's _hideout." Sakura walked over to Ino's couch and placed Toru down onto the cushioned furniture.

"What?" Ino walked over to her friend, her mind trying to process what was happening. "You can't be serious, Sakura."

"Look, Ino. I have never been more certain about something in my entire life. If there is even the slightest chance that Naruto is alive, then I am going to help him any way I can."

Ino looked into her eyes and down to that little boy who looked like a Naruto clone. Sakura wasn't kidding. The blonde kunoichi sat down next to the baby and sighed. "How am I going to explain this to Shikamaru?"

"Ino!" Sakura cried and wrapped her arms around her in a vice-like grip. Ino smiled lightly, but inside she was somber, not knowing what was going on in that woman's mind. Naruto alive? It couldn't be possible. But there wasn't anything that Nara Ino wouldn't do for her friend. Sakura pulled away from Ino and handed the blonde a large bag. "I need you to feed him the potion every four hours for the next week." Sakura paused in thought, struggling with her next sentence. "If I don't come back…"

"Sakura!" Ino jumped up and wrapped her arms around her. "_Baka_! Don't EVER say that!" Ino inhaled deeply. "You're going to help Naruto, bring him back, and become one big happy family. Do you hear me?" She was not only trying to convince the pink haired kunoichi, but herself as well. She could only pray that Sakura was right. And that Naruto was in fact, alive.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! They're greatly appreciated.**

***Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto. However, Toru Uzumaki is my original character.  
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Ino paced the room, her hands running through her fabulous, long, blonde hair. Though her locks remained chic, she didn't feel all that fabulous right now. Yes, Toru was fast asleep, but it was only a matter of time until Shika would come in and find an infant in their apartment. And with his insane genius ways, he would figure out what was going on. Sakura had left not too long ago, but hopefully she would be far enough so that Shika couldn't trace her. Ino paced the room, and suddenly that stupid floorboard next to the couch creaked again. She told Shika to fix the damn thing before she moved in. But _no_, it was too troublesome. In no time at all she heard the slight moaning and fussing rising from the infant boy.

"Dammit…" Ino rushed to the baby, picking him up and rocking back and forth. "Shhh, Toru. Ino's here…" The blonde felt so awkward holding a child. It just wasn't in her nature. She was used to holding older boys—well, men—and not the infants. But she would do all she could to help her friend. But damn, did Sakura owe her big. Spa day—no, spa WEEK, big. Ino rocked back and forth, lost in the reverie of glorious spa days. And soon, Toru lulled back to sleep.

"Ino?"

"DAMMIT!" And the boy snapped right back into consciousness, crying due to the sudden interruption of his slumber. Ino looked over towards Shika and watched his sleepy eyes snap open at the sight of a child in his wife's arms.

The man sighed. "What is it now?"

Oh yeah, Sakura owed Ino _big_ time.

* * *

Sakura sped down the street towards her apartment, knowing that if she were to pause even for a moment, she would be spotted. No one was to know that she had come, save for Ino and Shikamaru. And although Shika would eventually know that her son was staying with them for a short time, he would not know the true reason as to why, if Ino stuck to the plan. All that mattered was that Toru was in good hands, and Sakura knew that if anything were to happen—_no_. She needed to keep her thoughts positive.

Sakura closed in on her apartment, and her eyes scanned the area for any signs of movement. There were a few stray drunkards stumbling their way home, but they would pay the kunoichi no mind. Sakura swiftly made her way into her apartment and snatched up all of her weapons and scrolls and changed into her proper jounin gear. Although it was somewhat of a tight fit, considering she still had the pounds gained from her pregnancy, it didn't cause any discomfort. She knew that once she gained her regular energy back, with the help of the _Vigoratus _potion, she would be able to burn away any fat she had accumulated. Tama told her that it would at the very least be three days before she could ease off of the drink and maintain her regular training.

The kunoichi was in awe about how much her body was healed by the gypsy's talented potion and magic. She could feel her chakra returning to its normal state little by little, and it was comforting to the medic-nin. She felt naked without her usual thrum of green chakra in reserves. And the way Tama took care of Toru was only more comforting to her. Sakura could have sworn that the little boy's body lengthened by at least three inches. He looked much better, and his skin was developing that healthy golden tone similar to Naruto's.

The pink haired woman strapped her equipment down and winced slightly as her muscles tensed in protest to the weight but she ignored it. There was going to be much more pain from the looks of this mission ahead of her. The time of the pink haired woman sitting back and watching her teammates rise to greatness was over. It was Sakura's turn to raise hell. And she was going to relish in it.

The kunoichi paused only for a second to make sure that the perimeter surrounding her apartment was clear. As soon as this was confirmed, Sakura leapt from her apartment straight down onto the streets in one silent and fluid jump. Her body shivered with that sweet pain of the familiar shinobi actions.

Sakura sprinted down the dark and barren street, making her way to the Gates. She would have to elude the night guards so as not to draw any attention. Otherwise, they would report the sighting to Tsunade—then Sakura would have hell to pay.

Ahead, Sakura could see the men stationed at their usual posts and sighed inwardly in relief. The men assigned were practically falling asleep—it must be towards the end of their shift, she guessed. But these were shinobi, and by no means were they incompetent; Sakura would still have to be cautious when she passed through.

She decided that the best way to deceive would be right under their nose, considering that any basic shinobi would be able to sense an approach during this quiet night. Sakura pulled out her plain, hooded cloak and drew the cover over her head so that her hair and eyes were sheathed. She slowed down her pace and walked briskly towards the gate, nodding to the two men as she passed.

"Mission?" one of the men inquired.

Sakura nodded, opting to not use her voice. It wasn't as recognizable as some blond idiot of Konoha, but better safe than sorry. From under the hood she could see the other shinobi's brow furrow in discernment.

"Where's your scroll, ninja?"

"Burned it."

"Well then, tell us your name so we can mark it down," the other man replied, his eyes scrutinizing.

Sakura growled. Her eyes scanned the two men from under her cloak and determined that they were both of the Chuunin level—this would only take a moment. Sakura rushed towards the two men and pulled the cloak from her face.

"I will be quick and clear, seeing as I am your superior, gentlemen. I am on a classified mission, and neither of you are to speak one single word about what you have seen or heard. And you are to mark absolutely _nothing _on that sheet of paper. Otherwise, not only will you have to answer to the Hokage—" Sakura's face darkened in thought. "But you will have to answer to _me…_"

The two men shifted in panic at the thought of answering not only to Tsunade-shissou, but to the infamous fury of her apprentice as well. "Understood?" Sakura laid a delicate hand on the table that they were positioned at and slowly clenched her fist, causing the wood to creak in protest. The two ninja nodded and looked down towards their papers, giving Sakura the clear to go. The kunoichi promptly returned the hood back over her head and sped off, a smile curving her lips. It felt good to be powerful.

If what Tama spoke to her about was true, then she had exactly two days to get back to the village to save her. To hell with that vision of her death! There was no way Sakura was going to let one of her friends die just because it was _fate_. Sakura was absolutely sick of losing the ones she cared about. And even though Tama had tried to convince her that she saw Naruto in her vision, there was still a gaping hole in Sakura's heart. How could it heal after hearing that the one you loved was murdered?

To all of a sudden find out that it was a lie…so what if he was alive—what if they had captured him? The kunoichi was furious. And Kami have mercy on those who were to cross her.

Sakura looked to the sky to find the sun stretching the tips of its rays from the horizon. She needed to run fast.

* * *

He had been tracking them for the past three months, and it was getting on his fucking nerves that they kept getting away. This was the last straw. The last time he had caught up to the small group of men, they had discussed something about snatching a medicine woman from a village nearby. They joked that it would be an easy capture, because what could she do—throw herbs at them?

Naruto Uzumaki growled in frustration and gulped down the remains of his plain instant ramen. His belly groaned in protest, crying for the sweet taste of Ichiraku, but the shinobi would not return until he was successful. Besides, this was his part of the mission. Sasuke was to retrieve Kakashi and, once they returned, declare the Uzumaki dead. Naruto was completely baffled and downright pissed off as to why he had to fake his own demise, but Shika explained it to him months prior.

"_Look, Naruto. It is simply much easier for you to move about with The Collector in the dark about you. If he thinks you're__ dead, you can make your way in much more quickly. And the rogue-nins will not even try to sense for your chakra."_

"_BUT—!" Naruto was distraught_. _"Why—"_

"_Look, Naruto. Now that we know what the Collector's__power really is, you're the only person who can safely infiltrate his headquarters and kill him."_

The Uzumaki disposed of his meal and rubbed the back of his head as a sigh escaped from his lips. It was ridiculous how he had to keep tracking the rogue-nin. But it was the only way to find the new place where fat lard of a man was hiding. He changed his head quarters so many times! This was the only way to find out where he was at.

Naruto grabbed his pack and headed out towards the nearby village. Hopefully, he would be able to at the very least meet those men there and kick some ass. The shinobi was in a horrible mood. It had been so long since he had last seen his friends. He couldn't imagine their faces when they found out that the Uzumaki "died." And what about the promise he made to Sakura-chan?

He couldn't think about it. There were so many things he had wanted to say to her. When he finally told Sakura that he knew they had done it, he expected her to be angry. And Naruto guessed he deserved to have his jaw broken. But…since she knew as well… didn't that mean that Sakura-chan liked him? At the very least…didn't find him repulsive? And to have that beautiful woman think him dead broke his heart. She was the one he worried about the most. Because even if she didn't love him the way he loved her, he knew that they were best friends. And she would cry if she were to lose any one of her comrades. Just to imagine those perfect green eyes that Naruto had memorized so long ago filled with tears drove him insane.

The Uzumaki decided that the Collector was going to die by sunset. No matter what, he was going to see Sakura-chan.

* * *

Sakura was closing in on the village, but she knew she would have to stop soon to replenish her energy. She only had two bottles left of the potion, and true to Tama's word, it was getting easier to move about. Sakura gulped down her second to last bottle and felt the concoction do its magic. Her chakra slowly thrummed with life once more, and she sped the remaining lengths to the village. She sighed in relief—there hadn't been an attack yet. But that only meant they were coming soon. The kunoichi rushed among the homes and burst through Tama's door to find the woman sitting calmly at her table.

"Tama!"

"Sakura, what are you doing here? You should be on your way to the lair. Naruto will—"

"Right now, you are my charge. I am going to protect you. Once we meet up with that idiot, I'll deal with him."

"But this can't—I did not see this happening." Tama stood up and rushed to Sakura, pushing her away. "You could die here, Sakura! Naruto might die!"

For a fleeting moment the kunoichi's heart clenched in pain with the thought of losing Naruto again—if he was in fact alive. "It's a chance I have to take. Right now you are the one that is in danger. And I will do all that I can to protect you." Sakura took off her pack and began sifting through it. She pulled out several assorted weapons and began to strap them to her body.

"In your vision, was anyone else in the village hurt?"

"I told the villagers to leave. They're not to return until nightfall." Tama said.

The pink haired woman didn't understand it. How could the villagers not fight for one of their own? Sakura would never sit back idly while one of her friends was kidnapped.

"Do you know which way they are coming from?" Sakura wanted to get as much info as she could. Despite how insane this was, and even if this might be some complete fluke, Sakura couldn't chance having her friend killed. Not when there was something the kunoichi could do about it. Maybe she could set up some triggering scrolls so that if someone were to breach the village border…but the village was so small that she would be able to tell if anyone were to sneak in.

"I…" Tama closed her eyes, her brow furrowing in discernment. "I think near—"

Sakura gasped and jumped up. Faintly in the canal of her ears she detected the smallest muffled scream coming from not too far. It was a distinct voice she had learned well over the past few months. The kunoichi ran to the door but came to a screeching halt.

"Sakura, what is it?"

How could she not have sensed them?! "They're here." But this was impossible… Tama said that all the villagers were gone. How did he get caught?!

"Tama, do you know how to use a weapon?"

"Slightly…" she said.

"Slightly might save your life. Here," Sakura said as she handed the woman a kunai, "aim for the jugular, back of their knees, eyes, or ankles. It will knock them down long enough for you to run." The kunoichi would keep the woman right beside her to know that she would be safe. Leaving her here would be too much of a risk. At least, a bigger risk than taking her along…

Sakura tossed her bag aside and looked to the gypsy. "We need to get going. Daisuke's in trouble."

Tama's eyes widened, and she nodded. Both took off running, Sakura's pace adequately faster than the gypsy's, though she tried to slow down to keep Tama in her peripheral vision. The pink haired woman headed west where she had detected the voice's origin. She pulled out one of her numerous weapons and gripped it tightly, her mind set. So help her Kami if anyone were to touch one single hair on that boy's head—they were going to be decapitated right on the spot.

Then Sakura's senses flared. There were about five men—maybe six. She couldn't get an accurate count; her ears were whistling with the wind from her running pace. She was certain they were straight ahead, and the kunoichi could tell that Daisuke was still alive, but… she smelled blood.

_Those bastards…_

Sakura growled and picked up her pace, darting between the huts and wagons and finally stopping in the herb and vegetable garden near the edge of the western wood. She was right: there were six men. They looked strong; however only a few of them seemed to be at her level. But Sakura had learned long ago that underestimating your enemy could cost you your life. She heard Tama's shaky breath come from behind her and felt apprehensive. Should she have left Tama behind? But she couldn't have risked leaving the woman alone. What if there were others?

"ONEE-CHAN!" Daisuke screamed from one of the stronger men's clutches. The shinobi laughed and tightened his grip on the young boy's arms, resulting in the poor one screaming in pain.

"It's all right, Daisuke. I'm here." Sakura's eyes scanned the men carefully, analyzing the situation. Tama wasn't likely to be a great help in this, so Sakura would have to wipe out the weaker men as fast as possible. But by the time she wiped those men out, Daisuke's neck could be snapped in two. Sakura looked at the struggling little boy; she was going to have to take the chance.

"Well look here, Haruka—a pinky!" Those irritating words came from one of the men on her left. In all of her life, if there was ever a word that completely snapped Sakura's fury, it was _pinky_. Her eyes landed squarely on the man who spoke—it was one of the weaker men. His chakra looked nonexistent from where she stood. She would have to act fast.

Sakura's hand flicked lightning fast as she shot her weapon towards the man. He went down the moment the kunai connected with his throat. How pathetic. The man didn't even make a move to dodge her attack. She looked to the other men, and most of them shifted in their positions. They obviously didn't expect any retaliation from this village. Sakura might have taken that one man down in a quick rush, but she expected the others would not be the same.

"I see we have a feisty _ninja_ here." The man holding Daisuke laughed, not even perturbed that one of his men was just taken down. "Kei, Ryuu—" he called out.

"Yes, Haruka-sama," the men said, answering in unison.

"You two told me that there were no shinobi in this village. In fact, you said that there was nothing to worry about." The men didn't respond to their leader.

"Look at her…" Haruka's eyes darkened. "Does she look like nothing to you?" The man picked up Daisuke like he was a twig and threw him across the garden.

"NO!" Tama screamed.

Sakura sprinted across the patches of vegetables and herbs, her eyes never leaving Daisuke. She leapt the last few lengths, her arms wrapping around the young one just before his body made contact with the hard packed earth. Her muscles cried out from misuse, but she ignored them. This was not the time to dawdle. She stood up and ran to Tama, handing Daisuke to the gypsy. A low chuckle rumbled from the shinobi.

_Damn._ He was testing her to see just how fast she could run.

"You see what you've done?" Haruka looked towards the two men, and they shifted uncomfortably. "You let them take away my toy." And in one fluid movement, the man pulled out a dagger and slit their throats. Three men were remaining.

"Haruka…let me play with the pink one."

"No, Ichiru. You and Goru need to get that medicine woman. And kill the boy…we don't want any witnesses." Haruka's dark eyes flickered towards Sakura. "I'll take care of the kunoichi." He pulled out another dagger—a complement to the other he had used to kill his comrades. He twirled them effortlessly in his hands and smirked.

"Ready to play?"

The other two ninja made their way around Sakura and sprinted for the two gypsies.

"Don't you _dare _touch them!" Sakura leapt from her spot and landed squarely in front of Tama and Daisuke, her hands armed with kunai. The men stopped in their tracks, but neither of them looked worried or even annoyed. The kunoichi knew what a horrible mistake she made in having Tama follow her. If she had left her behind, she could have at the very least wiped these men out without having to worry about Tama in the background. She brought the lamb right into the lion's den.

_Naruto or Sasuke would've never made a stupid mistake like this._

Sakura's eyes shifted between the three men, trying to suppress her thoughts. This was not the time to think about that. She was a strong kunoichi of Konoha. She needed to use her own strengths to find a way to win. Sakura looked to the man on her right—he was lightly built, most likely a very fast runner. The man on her left was all muscle, the strongest of the remaining men. One was fast with little muscle, the other strong but slow…How could she use their weaknesses to her benefit?

Then it clicked.

"Tama, on a count of three, I want you to take Daisuke and run. Hide until I come for you," she muttered, slipping her kunai back into the pouch resting on her hips.

"Sakura-chan…"

"Just do as I say." Sakura was banking on something probable, but it was all she had. She began to build chakra into her fists, and she felt that sweet, familiar tension in her muscles. "One…." She pulled on her gloves, fastening them into a tighter fit.

"Two…." She looked towards the two men, and both of them looked to each other, a confused look about their faces. So they weren't all that bright. Good. Sakura felt like beating up some idiots today.

"Three!"

Sakura shoved Tama and Daisuke away, and instantly Ichiru, the fast one, took off after them. Sakura smirked. The man sprinted after them, but before he could pass Sakura, she brought her left fist and hooked it right between the shinobi's ribs. A loud crack vibrated throughout the garden as Ichiru was sent flying directly towards the other man named Goru. Sakura could tell from the pinpoint of where her chakra-loaded fist had hit, that she had shattered his ribs and most definitely had at least two of them puncture his lungs. The lean, muscled shinobi collided with his comrade and bounced off of him, landing on the ground and immediately beginning to cough blood. He was out for the count. Good thing Tama had a head start—and a good one at that. The big one could only run so fast with all of his muscle weighing him down.

"You stupid bitch!" Goru growled.

Sakura growled and sent two shuriken flying towards the big idiot. He caught them, though they pierced his skin. He laughed and licked the trickling blood.

"That tickled." He tossed the weapons aside and looked back towards his leader. "Haruka-sama—"

"Goru. Get the gypsy woman."

"But—"

"_Go_," he said. Goru's eyes darkened, but he ran off at what Sakura considered a trot. She sighed in relief. Tama would be all right.

"Don't be relieved just yet, kunoichi. Goru has the nose of a dog. He might be slow, but he will sniff out that gypsy woman and bring her back."

Sakura's heart dropped. How long could Tama keep running, carrying Daisuke like that? Considering her huffing and puffing from before, it couldn't be long. Sakura had to go after them. But before that, she needed to take this guy out.

"Why do you want Tama?"

Haruka laughed lightly. "Isn't this the way it always goes? The heroine inquires as to what the evil mastermind's plan is? Well, why don't you ask the big boss himself? I think he'll have a great interest with you and your massive store of chakra." The shinobi twirled his daggers effortlessly between his fingers. "Too bad…I wanted to watch you die while I sliced your silky throat." In a flash he was inches from Sakura, a smile curling his greasy lips. "I guess I'll just have to settle with torturing you."

Sakura spat at the man's feet. "You make me sick, you—" She was interrupted instantly with a hard punch to her cheek, sending her right into the ground. She could feel blood pooling in her mouth, so she quickly spat out the liquid and jumped up, a kunai in her hand.

"Usually people are struck unconscious by one of my punches. You're a strong little girl." He came at her with his daggers, slashing wildly. Sakura swiftly dodged his attacks—but on his last strike, he caught his blade on her arm, leaving a wide, bleeding gash. She growled and switched to offense, aiming for Haruka's ligaments—she wanted to disable him so that she could question him later.

"Well, I should say you're not so little. Shouldn't a kunoichi be thin?" The man chuckled as he jumped away from Sakura's strikes. The pink haired woman growled, her temper flaring wildly.

"That's it, you bastard," she spat, chakra pulsing in her hands. She leapt after him, her fists itching to beat this insulting idiot to a blubbering pulp. He moved to the side, just missing her hit. Instead, the kunoichi's fist cracked the earth beneath them, sending a crackling pulse through the ground like an earthquake.

"You put all of your weight into that one, didn't you?" Haruka laughed. Sakura clenched her teeth in anger and lifted her hand out of the crater she had made out of the garden. This idiot was sending her into a blinding rage. She turned around to see an empty plot—where had he gone? Sakura flicked her gaze from point to point all around her. He had disa—

"Missed me, _pinky_?" He grabbed her from behind, slamming her body to the ground. The shinobi wasted no time in grabbing her wrists and squeezed them almost to the point of snapping her hands off. The air shot out of her lungs, and she gasped, choking.

"I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind if I played with you a little bit." The rogue-nin's dark eyes scanned her body hungrily, and he grinned. "Besides, Goru isn't back with that bitch yet." He took his dagger and sliced it right through Sakura's jounin top. The kunoichi brought her leg up in a swift kick to the man's groin but was stopped mid-motion by Haruka's hand. She began to build the chakra in her other leg to kick this man's genitals back into his body.

"Play nice, _pinky_." His eyes drew down towards the kunoichi's chest and sparkled. "A _black_ bra? Well, that could only mean you wanted someone to see something this delicious…" He pinned his leg down on her, and his lecherous hand reached for her chest.

_Now! _Sakura pulled her chakra powered leg up and connected it with the man's groin. Haruka cried out in pain, releasing the pink haired woman's hands to cup his manhood. Sakura grabbed a kunai that she had strapped to her leg and stabbed the pervert in his stomach. He screamed and rolled to his side, crouching in a fetal position. Sakura yanked out her kunai and rammed in into his leg.

"AGH! YOU STUPID BITCH!!"

"Hm." Sakura looked at the bleeding shinobi. "I missed." She held her blade right above the man's groin. "Maybe one more try—"

"No! _**NO**_! Please, I'll tell you anything you want!" The pathetic man gripped tightly onto his manhood, his once menacing eyes now filled with panic. The woman glared deeply at the pathetic rogue-nin that crouched before her.

"Who is the Collector?"

"I…I…can't—"

"Maybe you didn't hear me," she said, her blade dancing across the man's lower body, "but I asked you a simple question. .?" She pressed the tip of her blade dangerously close to Haruka's pelvis. The man began to sweat profusely.

"He's some fat lard who pays us to kidnap people!" His eyes were glued to Sakura's weapon.

"Why?"

"I don't know! He has some sick fetish with powerful things! And…and he does something to them. I don't know what!"

"Does he have any special kind of—" Sakura was interrupted suddenly with a bloodcurdling scream from not far off.

Tama.

"Son of a bitch." The kunoichi stabbed her kunai into the crook of the shinobi's right elbow and took off. That Goru must've caught up to them. She took too long interrogating this asshole.

"You stupid whore, I'll kill you for this! You hear me?! I'll KILL YOU!!!"

Sakura ignored the angry rant and sped through the village with her senses wide open, searching for Tama and Daisuke. With the village surrounded by its gardens, it was hard to distinguish among the scents, so she would have to rely on her sight and hearing.

_Where are they?_

"Tama-chan!!!!! TAMA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!"

_DAISUKE!_

Sakura pushed her aching muscles to their fullest and rushed towards the source of the little boy's voice. It led her to an open field directly behind Tama's hut. Daisuke came running towards the kunoichi. Sakura knelt down and grabbed the little boy, her eyes scanning the turf. It was completely empty.

"Onee-chan! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was supposed to go with the rest of them, but I didn't want to lose Tama-chan and-and-and—" Daisuke was in hysterics now.

"Calm down, Daisuke! Where's Tama?"

"That big man took her!"

Sakura's heart dropped. "Where?"

Daisuke pointed west of their position, and Sakura immediately stood up. "Daisuke, I want you to go and hide in Tama's hut until the villagers get back, understand?"

"No! Onee-chan, don't leave me! Please!" The little one grabbed tightly onto Sakura's legs and rubbed his face into her.

"Daisuke," she said, "I need to go save Tama-chan. You need to be a big, brave boy. And I _promise _that I will come back."

The young boy sniffed. "With Tama-chan?"

Sakura nodded. "With Tama-chan." _Dead or alive… _The words echoed in the back of her mind, but Sakura squashed them. She would bring her friend back _alive_, but she would need to leave now to pick up on that lard man's trail. Daisuke released her from his grip and hiccupped.

"Sakura-nee-chan…"

"I'll be back, Daisuke. Go hide!" Sakura rubbed his head affectionately one last time before she ran into Tama's hut and grabbed as many weapons as she could—along with the last remaining potion. She threw on her cloak and rushed out after Tama and her kidnapper.

Sakura caught that man's scent the moment she breached the border of the forest. His stench was all too familiar, a mixture of sweat, blood, and meat. He was heading due west…which Sakura guessed was directly towards the headquarters of The Collector.

Her energy was slightly waning from battle, but her speed didn't falter. Thankfully that shinobi was slow, so she would easily catch up to them. From what Sakura could tell by their tracks, they were only ten minutes ahead at the most. She could cut them off before they reached the headquarters and—what was that?!

Suddenly Sakura's body was slammed into a tree, and the air in her lungs shot of her. She was so focused on tracking Goru and Tama that she hadn't taken notice of this new enemy.

_Idiot!_

Sakura inwardly screamed at herself for being so stupid as to let her own guard down and let her emotions get in the way once again. Now she would have to take down another enemy and lose time she could be using to chase after Tama. The pink haired woman reached for a kunai as quick as lightning and darted her eyes ahead of her, towards her attacker. She dropped her weapon almost immediately.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura pulled her hood away from her face.

The orange clad shinobi stood before her, looking slightly worn from travel and wearing a light brown cloak about him with the hood drawn back. His hair was slightly longer, and his skin was even more golden than the last time she saw him. Sakura's eyes scanned him, soaking in his appearance, fearing he might disappear at any given moment. But this wasn't a dream. He was here and alive.

"Sakura-chan?" His sparkling blue eyes widened in shock and he dropped his weapon. "What are you doing here? I thought you were—"

And in an instant Sakura cracked her fist into his stomach, light enough not to kill him, but hard enough to make him cry out in shock.

"_BAKA_!!!!!!!!!!" She grabbed him by his cloak collar and shook him vigorously. "I though you were _dead_!!!!! I'm going to KILL you for leaving me!!!!" She pushed him hard to the ground and grabbed the shinobi's discarded kunai. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't skin you alive for leaving me alone after you knocked—" Sakura froze. She almost let it slip. But she should tell him now, right? She had a baby; their son's name was Toru, and he looked just like him—minus the green eyes (and whiskers of the _Kyuubi_, thank goodness). Just the sight of Naruto brought on so many emotions, ones that she wanted to scream to him while pummeling the idiot into the ground. Besides, it was his fault she felt this distraught. She could release herself of this ridiculous burden by telling him the truth. And she would be able to focus.

Why didn't she finish her sentence?

"Sakura-chan! I'm sorry! I'm on a mission, and I thought you were one of the rogue ninjas running around here." Naruto stood up and held out his hands warily, reaching for the kunai in Sakura's hands. He was all too familiar with the kunoichi's anger, and any weapon in her hands would surely make its way towards his hide.

The kunoichi gasped. "Tama!" _DAMMIT! _She let her emotions get in the way _again_! When would she learn that her emotions were a complete distraction during a mission? Her heart was beating so fast just because of this stupid blond idiot in front of her. Why was it that she could never control her emotions around him? Fury, happiness, depression, and serenity: all of these raged within the kunoichi every time she looked at the Uzumaki. It was ten-fold now.

Her mind raced with different plans of action. She needed to go after Tama, that was for sure…but what about Naruto?

"Tama? Do you mean that gypsy lady?"

"Yes. One of the rogue-nins took her! I need to hurry!" Sakura took a deep breath, suppressing the strong desire to scream. She whipped around and grabbed her kunai, strapping it once more to her thigh.

"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?"

"As much as I want to stay here with you, Naruto, I need to go and save Tama." she said, standing.

"You can't."

"Excuse me?" Sakura turned back to the shinobi, her eyes wide in shock. Naruto looked completely serious, but this must be a joke. What the hell was he going on about?

"Where the rogue-nin is going, it's too dangerous, Sakura-chan. I don't want you to go." His eyes dropped down, unwilling to make eye contact with the woman.

Sakura growled and clenched her fists. She was almost thankful that her anger was winning out over her urge to cry. "You know what, Naruto? I am _sick _of being told that I cannot do something just because it's _dangerous_. If I was so worried about being hurt, I would have never entered the ninja academy. And may I remind you, I am a fucking _adult?_! I can make my own damned decisions!! Now if you don't mind, I am going to save my friend!" With that, Sakura leapt from the ground and took off after the fading trail of Goru and Tama. Damn that stupid _baka _to Hell.

She focused her eyes on the ground and widened her nostrils to the tracks. Thankfully the trail was still there, but now they were farther ahead. In a good twenty minutes, they could very well be at their destination. Sakura growled and cursed the blond idiot for running into her. She was so relieved that he was alive, but so angry that he didn't tell her a thing.

What a hypocrite Sakura was…

"Sakura-chan, wait!"

The pink haired ninja focused her emerald eyes intensely upon the tracks and nothing else. She did not need any distractions right now. And Naruto was most definitely a distraction of massive proportions.

"Sakura-chan, you don't know what you're going up against!" he said, keeping the quick pace of the kunoichi.

"Let me see…_The Collector _a sick, perverted fat man who likes to collect people with special capabilities? Has around twenty—well, sixteen men in his ranks, and was the one who kidnapped Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura still refused to look at him. She picked up her pace since they were closing in on wherever Goru was taking Tama. His trail ended up ahead.

"H-How did you know that? Well… that's not all, Sakura-chan," he said. "You don't know the sick things this bastard has done. The things he could do with you!"

"Then, pray tell." Sakura finally turned to look at the Uzumaki with a fiery glare. "What can he do?" She looked back ahead of them to find that they were closing in upon a massive fortress, with a wall towering approximately fifteen feet. It was well hidden if looked at with an untrained eye. The two teammates came to a halt a couple hundred yards away.

Naruto took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his head in defeat. "I should've learned by now that there's no stopping you." He turned around and pulled out a scroll from his pack.

"From what that _teme_ got with his Sharingan, that guy is some serious business. He's short and fat, but he has this weird _jutsu_ or innate power that can control a person's body and mind. It's limited, though, because it uses up so much chakra."

"Then it should be easy to take him out," Sakura said.

"I wish. He can also eat someone's chakra and use it as his own."

"What?!"

"He can consume someone's energy and then control their body. For the past year or so, he's been collecting all these poor bastards and making them fight each other. The loser would be drained dry of their chakra and then killed by _the Collector's_ minions while the winner would stay alive for a while longer. If they refused to fight, he would control one of them and force them into combat." Naruto's eyes hardened with anger and determination. Sakura felt her stomach clench at the thought of their opponent, and a lingering memory of her nightmare not too long ago flickered in her mind. She had dreamed of his chakra draining power, and from just the memory of it, it was nothing to be trifled with.

"How can we take him out?"

"Well, there's a flaw with his power. He can only do one creepy mind thing or chakra sucking at a time, and his mind control lasts only for about five minutes. It takes a little under a minute for him to regain his strength to absorb chakra, so I figured I could go in there and wipe the bastard out after one of his sick gladiator sessions."

Sakura chewed lightly on her lower lip, deep in thought. Tama was going to be forced into battle against someone else? But her powers were hardly a weapon! She would be wiped out in no time… And Naruto's idea was completely flawed; it was ridiculous to just roll into the headquarters looking for a fight. First, they needed to get Tama out of there and then think of a way to take out _The Collector._

"We need to get through the gates." Sakura looked towards the strong bastion, her mind switching wildly between plans of action. How could they get through that fort without being noticed? And then it hit her.

"_Henge no Jutsu_," she said proudly. About damn time she contributed something this brilliant.

Simple…but brilliant.

"What?" Naruto was a complete idiot sometimes. Okay, most of the time…all right, _all_ of the time.

"_Baka_!" She swatted him upside the head. "I said _Henge no Jutsu_, the transformation technique! We had to perform it in the Academy during our tests." Sakura rolled her eyes at the blond shinobi's forgetfulness. "We can disguise ourselves as their men and sneak in."

It was a long shot, but it was infinitely better than blatantly running in to "kick some ass" like Naruto had previously planned. With this, they could infiltrate the headquarters safely, retrieve Tama, and destroy the enemy. And return alive. Maybe…

Sakura turned to look at the headquarters and then back to Naruto. Despite her internal screaming of having control over her emotions, her heart raced and her stomach jumped with just the sight of the Uzumaki. She wouldn't cry, not with the gravity of this mission hanging over her head. But she knew there was an obvious percentage of danger involved with this, and no amount of planning could be flawless. Sakura's green eyes softened as she looked on towards those striking blue irises.

She took his hand into hers. She didn't know if it seemed affectionate, but it quickened her pulse nonetheless. "Naruto," she said, inhaling deeply. She would no longer hesitate with telling him what she wanted to say. She would learn from the past. "If we aren't able to-"

"Sakura-chan, don't." His hand tightened around hers. "Don't enter this thinking we're not coming back. We're going to kick this guy's ass, save Tama, and then go back to Konoha and eat some Ichiraku ramen, okay?" His eyes sharpened, and the kunoichi could feel his determination pass through between them. This wonderful idiot was Hope incarnate.

"Do you know who you're going to pose as?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Okay…let's do this," she said as she let go of his warm hand. Naruto was right. If she went into this mission thinking that they weren't going to come out of it alive, then there was no hope for them at all.

Both of them stood up straight, their eyes never leaving each other as they began to form the hand signals in complete synchronization.

"_Henge no Jutsu!_"

* * *

The sun had sunk well below the mountains now, and the moon had taken its place in the sky, shining its milky beams onto the forest floor. Not too far away from the headquarters of the rogue-nin stood two men. One of them was fussing with his cheeks while the other looked absolutely livid.

"_Naruto no baka_! I can't believe after all these years you still can't perform the damn jutsu correctly!" Sakura couldn't believe this Jounin level idiot. He had transformed into Ichiru, and he almost looked completely like him save for one oh-so-obvious factor.

Naruto prodded his whisker marks that so stubbornly remained on his cheeks and sighed. "I'll just have to cover them up with a scarf or something…"

Sakura growled and tossed the man a thick red scarf from her bag. The Uzumaki took the scarf and clumsily wrapped it around his neck. The marks were still visible.

"Come here—" Sakura took a few steps closer towards the shinobi and fixed the scarf so that it covered most of his face, save for his eyes. It almost seemed like an insult to the woman that his normally electric blue eyes were replaced with the dark, muddy brown of Ichiru's. Sakura pulled tightly on the red cloth, making sure it was secure. Her fingers lightly grazed his cheeks, and she felt jolts of energy shoot through her body in excitement. Her skin prickled with the warmth of his chakra pulsing in waves off of his body. It felt so comforting and familiar to her, like home.

"Sakura…" Naruto's voice was low, and it stirred something primal within the kunoichi.

_No…not now._

"You have to call me Haruka-sama, remember?" Sakura stepped away almost too quickly. She tugged on the unfamiliar clothes before picking up her knapsack. That was close.

The Uzumaki nodded. Sakura took one more look at the shinobi before they took off towards the fort. They slowed their pace down a few hundred feet from the wall. The men positioned on top looked rugged and worn with scars. They looked down towards the two but said nothing. Naruto spoke first.

"Let us in."

"What's the password, Ichiru?" One of the men glared. Naruto looked to Sakura, his face scrunched up in confusion.

_Shit._

Sakura didn't think about a password to enter the headquarters. There wasn't time to deal with something as trivial as some ridiculous password!

"Just open the fucking gates, or I'll have to bash your heads in." The words were out of the kunoichi's mouth before she could think it through. Both of the guards looked stunned for a moment. Naruto looked over to Sakura apprehensively, and the kunoichi couldn't blame him. She might have just blown their cover.

…Until one of the men began to laugh heartily. "Yup, that's Haruka for you. Open the gates, Kaito. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that bastard's beatings."

The other man complied, and slowly the thick gates swung open. Sakura inwardly sighed in relief. Her outburst had been characteristic of that asshole. Good. Now they needed to get through and find Tama.

Sakura nudged Naruto slightly, and they made their way into the headquarters. From what they could see with the light given by the moon, there were a dozen or so small bungalows plotted out into two rows with one main building centered all the way down the path. It was basic, which wasn't all that surprising considering they moved to different locations often.

Sakura spoke under her breath, knowing that Naruto could hear her. "Can you sense anything?"

"No, can you?"

The kunoichi opened her ears wide, listening for any trace of Tama's voice. She growled. "No." She raced over to the nearest building, slowing down before she reached the door. She could smell food and hear lots of voices. _Cafeteria. _She would need to avoid as many people as possible.

"Saku—um, Haruka-sama, come here." Naruto called her over. He was several bungalows away, but his voice reached her ear. She raced over once she made sure the coast was clear. Despite their disguise, there was no point in drawing attention to themselves. She reached her teammate and listened in to the building. There were no voices coming from behind the door, but she could smell something familiar. It was that shoe-polish smell that shinobi knew so well.

"Trinitrotoluene. This must be their armory storage." Sakura looked at the building and memorized its coordinates. This would only be too helpful in a bad situation. Where could they be keeping Tama? If Sakura were a power tripping villain, where would she keep her most precious items?

_Right next to me._

"We had better check out the main building." Before the kunoichi made a move towards the building, she pulled out a small parchment and placed it onto the door of the armory bungalow. Now if the time called for it, she could set off this small seal explosion. Sakura nodded to Naruto and began to make her way over to the building. They took only a few steps when the Uzumaki snatched out and grabbed Sakura's hand. A cold feeling suddenly shot through her body. The two teammates whipped around, their weapons drawn in an instant.

"Why, hello, _Ichiru_," the real Haruka said, laughing, "and hello, _me_. So nice to see a handsome face."

Behind him stood Goru; the big shinobi had a sick smile plastered onto his face. "That one smells like honey and cherry blossoms. Just like the pretty kunoichi."

"Really. I'm surprised. And who is this you have with you?" Haruka looked over to his comrade. "Goru? Care to take a whiff?"

Sakura stepped in front of Naruto, her mind coming to a complete halt as her plans came crashing down around her. Of course that shinobi would remember her scent. But how the hell did Haruka haul his incapacitated ass back here?

The large shinobi didn't take one step, but his nostrils flared wildly. A smile came across his face, illuminating his psychotic-looking eyes.

"_Jinchuuriki_..."

And now they knew Naruto was alive.

_Shit._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I want to thank my beta readers for being completely awesome. You know who are, you clever minxes X3. This story would not be possible (I should say grammatically correct…T_T) without your wonderful brains. **

* * *

"You'll be following us, now."

Both Sakura and Naruto released their hold on the faux forms and drew their weapons.

"I thought the ninja of Konoha were smarter than this? You're in the middle of enemy territory, surrounded by rogue-nin." Haruka's smile was smug; thinking victory was his.

"Rule number one in the ninja academy: _never _underestimate your opponent," Naruto said, his lips curling into a snarl. He flicked his hand and a kunai flew towards Haruka. The shinobi dodged the attack, but failed to see a certain pink haired kunoichi leap from behind her teammate. Sakura cracked her fist across Haruka's jaw line and was quick to follow the hit. This time, she brought her leg up to his ribs, and heard a satisfying crunch. Even if he had someone heal his wounds from the last time she fought him, his muscles and bones would still be bruised. She wanted to see this bastard cry.

"Sakura-chan! Behind you!"

The woman had just enough time to see Naruto jump to her side to block several shuriken that could have very well killed her. Goru was obviously not just skilled with his nostrils. Sakura grabbed a kunai and quickly tackled Haruka, slamming his body to the ground and holding the weapon to his throat. She turned to see Naruto flailing about from the top of Goru's shoulders, the Uzumaki's arms wrapped in a vice-like grip around the man's thick throat. This was too easy.

"Where's Tama?" Sakura growled towards Haruka, her hand forcing the weapon dangerously close to the shinobi's jugular.

"Tama?" The man's dark eyes widened in surprise. "You two are here for _her_?" He immediately began to chuckle, causing the kunoichi's blade to cut into his skin slightly, but the man didn't show any signs of discomfort. What the hell was he laughing about?

"Just shut up and tell me where she is or I'll resort to finishing what I left undone this morning." Sakura clenched his throat with her hand as she aimed the tip of her kunai directly towards his genitalia. Her blood was boiling with rage. If he didn't tell her where Tama was, she would have no qualms with removing his manhood.

"Tsk, tsk. Now we won't be having any of that here, Ms. Haruno."

Sakura turned the slightest angle so as to keep Haruka in her sights, but just enough to take in the new enemy. His portly figure was accentuated by his rather short stature. Sakura was easily this man's height, maybe even taller. The stranger's skin had a pasty pale tone and his fingers were weighed down with an insane amount of jewelry. His eyes were dark, but the kunoichi wasn't sure if they were exactly brown. There was something completely off about those eyes. With all the uneasy confusion that this man brought about, there was one thing she was sure about: This was the man they were looking for.

"Boss, the pretty kunoichi smells like cherry blossoms and honey."

_The Collector_ nodded towards his subordinate. "Yes, she does indeed." He took a moment to adjust one of the rings on his thick fingers. "Sakura, why don't you put your kunai down? And Naruto, I would appreciate it if you would let go of Goru's neck. I'm sure that is hurting you more than it is hurting him."

_What is this man playing at?_

Even as she heard the remaining rogue-nins that occupied the cafeteria now surround them, Sakura made no move to withdraw her weapons. And she was damn sure Naruto could hold onto that big lug's neck all night if he had to. This bastard was trying to play the friend card. Her green eyes scanned the collecting group of shinobi; most of them seemed below her level and were definitely a far cry from Naruto's status. Sakura growled and pressed one of her blades into the man's neck. She could feel Haruka's pulse quicken. He'd better be scared. The kunoichi was in no mood to play any games.

"There's no fucking way I'm letting this asshole go." Naruto's voice barked from behind her, a reassuring sound that had her mind untangle the knot it had made. Her own sense of defiance grew with his and she looked directly into _the Collector's_ eyes and saw that they were not a brown at all; but a deep, dark, menacing red; an all too familiar color for the kunoichi.

"I will ask you this one more time. _Put the weapons down_."

No one moved.

"No? Well, then. Maybe you'll listen to your friend-" he said with a sick smile on his face as he turned his head slightly, "My little minx, why don't you try and persuade these trespassers?"

Sakura could feel the shinobi below her shake with laughter.

"L-let them go, Sakura."

_WHAT?_

"_Tama_?!" Sakura jumped up immediately and began to run towards the woman.

"Sakura-chan, stop! She's on their side!" Sakura heard the Uzumaki's voice call out to her. She froze in her tracks, her eyes shifting back and forth between that large, ugly man, and her new friend. The look on the gypsy's face could only be described as utter guilt. The older woman wouldn't even _look_ at Sakura. _On their side?_ How can that be possible? The kunoichi kept her eyes locked onto her friend, her hands losing the grip on the handles of the kunai. Her world was unraveling at the seams.

This was the woman who basically gave her the push to find her feelings towards Naruto. This was the same woman who helped her throughout her later months of pregnancy. The woman who delivered her child!

"Well done, Tama." _The Collector_ gently pulled on a long lock of Tama's dark hair and caressed it gently across his face. "As always." His brooding eyes flickered open to look over to Naruto.

"Since your teammate here has decided to let her captive go, why don't you follow suit?"

There was a short silence that broke into the night. Sakura was finding it all too hard to breathe now. So many lies had consumed her, and had weaved into the fabric of her life. In the end, would she be able to untangle herself from this web? Tama shifted her weight to stand away from her master and turned her eyes even further away from the kunoichi.

A low growl rumbled from next to Sakura as she felt that familiar presence of the Uzumaki. She tore her eyes away from Tama and looked to Naruto, unsure of just what was going on. He turned to her, and she could tell he was just as shocked as she was. Sakura brought her gaze back towards the head man and the traitor.

"B-but…this can't-" she said.

"Oh? Are you confused, Sakura? Not quite sure why the woman you have come to befriend, had all along been your enemy?" The man reached out quickly and took Tama by her neck, digging his thumb into her. His eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched her gasp for air and then threw her to the ground without a second thought. Sakura moved to help her but Haruka and Goru made to move in front of the fallen woman. Naruto took her by the hand and pulled her back, a snarl emitting from his mouth towards the two men.

"I _own_ her." _The Collector's_ eyes shined happily. "Every hair on her body and every drop of blood that flows through her veins belong to _me_. She was merely a pawn in my all too flawless plan."

"She is not property to be owned!" The pink haired woman's temper raged like a wildfire. She could feel her chakra pulsing through her, itching to be used. Those pair of red eyes ravaged her, scanning her body as if she were some piece of meat.

"My, my… Tama was right about you. You have quite the reserve of chakra in you, Ms. Haruno. I'm sure that your children, too, will have such delicious amounts." He turned to Naruto and let his eyes roam the young man's body. "And I'm quite sure the child of the _Jinchuuriki_ will be just as powerful."

Sakura's skin felt like ice. The smile that came across this man's face looked brazenly confident. The portly man took a deep breath and stepped over towards the two. Sakura felt Naruto release her hand from his tightening clutch.

"And what was your plan, you bastard? To lure me into your headquarters? Why keep me on the run? You could have had me in your stupid prison months ago."

_The Collector_ looked to Naruto and began to mindlessly fiddle with one of the rings on his fingers. "I suppose the Uchiha and that so called genius Nara thought they had figured my plan out, am I right? I was collecting rare items such as the Copy Nin, and wanted to add Naruto Uzumaki to my little treasures? And moved my headquarters around so that they would not find me?"

Sakura and Naruto gasped. How much did he know about them?

"Boss! You don't have to tell 'em a damn thing!" Haruka glared, his eyes locking mainly onto Sakura.

"Well," the man continued, ignoring the warning words, "They were only partially right. The reason I didn't capture you four months ago was because that would've been too soon. Granted that _this_ situation happened somewhat early, but I'm a man of preparation. Does that answer your question?"

The wheels in Sakura's head were spinning at insane revolution. He _knew _Naruto was following his men, and was keeping him occupied. But why? He knew from the start about Shika, Sasuke and Naruto, so why not wipe them out and take the Jinchuuriki?

"Haruka," he said, "how long do you think it takes to reach the fair village of Konoha?"

"Two days if I leave now, sir."

"Two days? Well that just won't do. I need him in an hour. Tama? I'm sure my little minx can concoct something to speed my fastest shinobi's pace up. Well, _second_ fastest shinobi, thanks to Sakura here. She went ahead and killed Ichiru." He idly played with the rings on his fingers once more. "Tama. Answer me."

Tama looked over to Sakura, and the kunoichi saw something that could only be described as pure fear. "Y-yes…"

"Then get to it. I want Haruka out of here in one minute. I'm getting hungry…"

"What do you want with Konoha?!"

"There is no need for shouting, Sakura. I am right in front of you." _The Collector _moved his hand and flicked it towards the surrounding men. They instantly began to return to the Cafeteria near the weapons bungalow.

"Very well. I suppose there is no harm in telling you of my marvelous and flawless plan now that the ending is inevitable. As you know by now, my powers have an unfortunate time limit-"

"Boss!"

"Haruka, may I remind you that you should be gone within the next," he said, looking at his watch, "thirty seconds?"

The shinobi and the woman took off immediately.

"Now, as I was saying...My powers have a time limit. And I feed upon others chakra to maintain my own levels. If they were infinite, I would be able to control the most powerful being known to this world- the _Jinchuuriki _known as Naruto Uzumaki. As we all know, every organization from Hell to high waters has been vying for possession of the _Jinchuuriki_ Naruto since the day he was cursed with the _Kyuubi_. I, myself, being a rather smart man have never been one to risk my own hide in some stupid war against those like the Akatsuki. But since they were demolished by no one other than the little Uchiha brat, my problems were solved. I was now able to put my plan into action. I would control the _Kyuubi_."

"No one can control the _Kyuubi_."

"Unless, my pretty kunoichi, you have powers such as I have. I needed a stable, yet powerful chakra to consume. The type of chakra I need to eat must be one similar to the _Kyuubi _container himself. Say…a relative."

To her side, Sakura could feel Naruto's chakra pulsing out of his body in his rising emotions. He was absolutely livid. However, Sakura felt her blood run cold. His words were driving too close to home.

"I investigated every little detail about Naruto; starting from his shoe size all the way to his frequent routine of walking by the Konoha Hospital to catch a glimpse of a certain pink haired woman."

_Eh?_

"SHUT UP! So you were stalking me! What the hell do you want with Konoha now that you have me?!" Naruto screamed at the man. Sakura was completely baffled with this enemy's plans, but couldn't hide the blush that came across her cheeks at the thought of Naruto stealing glances of her at work.

"Were you not listening? I need the chakra of your relative to control the beast within you. Really now, it's not that hard to grasp."

"I don't have any relatives, you asshole. They're all dead." Sakura looked to Naruto, her stomach twisting in a torrent of knots. The shinobi clenched his jaw, obviously trying to tame the fiery anger that this man was fueling.

"Why, Sakura, you haven't told him?" A sick smile spread across _the Collector's_ face and his red eyes glinted in the moonlight. The kunoichi looked down to the ground, not believing that she was in this situation. There could be no possible way to get out of this. Sakura opened her mouth, but her throat felt dry and parched. She couldn't muster the words that her friend deserved to hear for so long.

_He has a family to call his own._

"What are you talking about you bastard?" Sakura jumped slightly at the bark of Naruto's voice and looked towards him. It might be the trick of the light, but the kunoichi swore that she could see the slightest shade of red in the Uzumaki's eyes.

"Think about it, Naruto-_kun_. You took your beloved cherry blossom to bed that first night of your escort mission to the Port. What normally happens when a man and a woman make love? Certainly Konoha teaches their children about sex and _babies_."

The look that came upon the shinobi's face was something that Sakura couldn't describe. His brow furrowed and color in his eyes started to swirl. His face contorted between so many emotions, Sakura couldn't keep up with him. But no matter what, Sakura didn't look away. She refused to turn away from him now that he finally found out the truth. No matter how he would react, she would face him head on. He deserved that much after all he had done for her.

"Naruto," she said in a hoarse whisper. But she was interrupted.

"When I came across Sakura Haruno," Their enemy continued, and Sakura finally drew her eyes away from the Uzumaki to look at the rogue-nin leader. "I was indeed intrigued. She had an outstanding amount of chakra and such a skillful control over it as well. I finally knew that I had found the answer to my little problem. I first intended to use Tama as the carrier, but it was all too simple once you led me to your precious one, Naruto. And who better to give birth to the child of the _Jinchuuriki_ than the Hokage's apprentice?"

_No, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen…_

"Tama fed Sakura that illustrious fruit and it was all too easy from there. And with such massive amount of chakra herself, I'm sure that when your seed would mix with her egg, something oh-so-powerful would come to fruition-no pun intended. And I was right wasn't I? Although little Toru didn't have the chakra of the demon fox, he had what I'd like to call an eternal well. A reserve of chakra that runs so deep, that he has limitless potential should he grow and become a shinobi. But too bad for him that he is exactly what I need to consume in order to be rid of my power's handicap."

_He's going to eat Toru's chakra and have complete control over Naruto and the Kyuubi!_

"Then, Naruto, my boy, I can have you internally suffer as you help me take over this country and destroy what's left of your friends and newly made family. You will be imprisoned in your own body..._Forever._" _The Collector_ turned to Sakura and smiled happily. "And you left your newborn son in the 'capable' hands of your dear friend Ino, am I right, Sakura?"

Sakura's heart stopped. Everything that had happened in her life from meeting Tama, right up till now, was of his doing. He was the puppet master, and indeed they have all been strung along quite flawlessly.

"Boss! The potion's done."

"Oh, nicely done, indeed! Tama, you're just in time for Sakura and Naruto to thank you for bringing about the demise of their newborn son and their country."

Tama looked over to Sakura, her dark eyes pooling with tears. "Sakura-chan…I…"

But Sakura wasn't paying attention to her. The kunoichi's green eyes were locked onto the sick sadistic bastard aliased _The Collector. _Sakura felt her body shake violently with hatred. She had never felt so much abhorrence towards one person in all of her life. She was going to _kill _him. No. She was going to slowly torture this bastard until he was screaming for mercy. She would cut away his body inch by inch starting with those stupid, fat, fingers and make him eat every fucking jewel he wore. He would pay.

"You can leave now, Haruka. There's nothing that these two can do."

"DON'T YOU _DARE_ TOUCH TORU!" Sakura reached for her kunai and threw it at Haruka. But he was gone. All that was left was a blazing trail of fire that his feet left in their abnormal speed. He would indeed make it there before the hour. Sakura felt her stomach lurch. There was no way in Hell someone was going to touch her son. _No way in Hell._

She needed to at least take this guy's army down. Sakura looked to the side to see the armor bungalow not too far from them, and on the door was the small white piece of parchment that she had left on the door for just this occasion. Sakura smirked and formed the seals with her hands in quick movements. Moments later a domino effect of an explosion boomed throughout the quad taking out the buildings alongside the weapons house. Those men inside didn't stand a chance.

"Hn. I didn't care for those men anyhow. My interests lie in the bigger fish." The big boss's eyes grazed casually over his destroyed headquarters. He wasn't fazed one little bit.

"Sakura-chan"

_Damn. _She knew this was coming.

"Naruto." Her voice was shaky, but she never felt more lucid in all of her life. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But right now my son's life is in danger. And whether you like it or not, he's your son too. And no matter what I do next, so help me God if you stop me from protecting him-" She stopped the moment she felt his warm hand grip hers tightly. She looked up to him to find his eyes concentrated onto her; they were dangerously turning towards the shade of red. Naruto was trying desperately to keep his demon at bay, but with all of this news coming at him at once, she didn't know how long he could control the _Kyuubi_ that lay inside of him, biding his time before he could come thrashing through.

"Your chakra looks so scintillating whenever you get angry, Sakura. It's absolutely delicious. Since we'll be waiting for your son's arrival, why not we have some fun with you two? Say a little match between lovers? Now I want to save the best for last, so why not I try to tame a cherry blossom?" Sakura felt a tight grip around her body and looked up to see Goru viciously smiling down at her. The pink haired woman struggled fruitlessly against the massive shinobi. Even with her chakra increased strength, she couldn't budge.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto leapt at the man, but Goru knocked him against the nearest bungalow wall, leaving quite the crater in the metal shack. _The Collector_ walked over towards Sakura, his pupils dilating and completely covering his blood-red irises and his sclera. The kunoichi turned her head away, knowing that if she looked into his eyes, she would lose control over her own body. But Goru grasped her head and forced her to face the man. Sakura snapped her eyes shut, determined to maintain control over her psyche.

"That will do you no good, my pretty kunoichi. I don't need to look into one's eyes to control them. I need to merely touch them once, and they are _mine_." Sakura snapped her eyes open and shook violently in Goru's grasp sinking her teeth into the man's arms, drawing blood. She couldn't let him control her body. There was no way!

"Hehe! That tickles!"

"Now stay still. This will only hurt infinitely."

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Sakura looked to see Naruto rise up from the ground, his eyes flaming red. Naruto clenched his fists and reached behind him for his weapons.

"One more move, boy, and I'll have Goru snap her like a twig." _The Collector_ didn't take his eyes off of Sakura as he motioned towards his subordinate. Instantly Sakura felt the big lug's grip tighten harshly onto her body. Her face contorted in pain as she swallowed a scream. Any more pressure would reduce her bones to dust.

"_You son of a bitch!_"

"Naruto! _Matte_!" Tama ran over to the raging Uzumaki and Sakura saw through her blurry vision the gypsy's mouth moving rapidly. Naruto stilled, though his fury was still evident.

The kunoichi's green eyes flickered back to the man in front of her just in time to see him reach his hand out towards her face. His eyes were completely black now, concentrating onto her with such an intense focus. Sakura was waiting anxiously to feel the loss of her mental and physical control. Would it feel like just as her dream had shown her? But that was the chakra depletion…Would this be even more painful? Sakura's muscles tensed in anxiety and fear as the man placed his cold and heavy palm onto her cheek. Sakura gasped at the chill of his skin and the bastard grinned happily… for only a split second.

"How does it-_WHAT?!_" He snapped his hand away, glaring lividly at Sakura. He looked up and down her body and then focused his eyes intensely below her throat. He reached out and tore at her shirt, ripping it open. Sakura felt Goru's grip lessen significantly and she used all of her strength to knock her head back into the man's face. She heard a loud crack and a wounded cry as Goru realeased her, clutching his broken nose. Sakura pushed away from the man, turning her body, and she sent three kunai flying towards the muscled man. Each landed right in his throat and knocked him down dead. Sakura landed painfully onto the ground, knocking the wind right out of her lungs.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto ran over to Sakura and helped her to her feet. What was going on? Shouldn't she be a mindless drone now? Sakura grabbed tightly onto Naruto's shoulder as she began to catch her breath.

"You- but…how did you-?"

"So you think you've prepared for everything, you fat bastard?" Sakura looked towards Tama to find her standing beside the two teammates; her hands plopped firmly onto her hips and her eyes glowed with defiance.

"The stone-"

"That's right. You didn't think a _Seer_ couldn't find the one handicap of the _Mighty Shouta_? You're even stupider than I thought." Tama growled and opened the ripped collar of Sakura's top, revealing the green necklace she had given her many months ago. "The Stone of _Jizo_. The god's purpose is to protect against evils like you. Your powers have absolutely no effect upon the wearer of this stone." Sakura clenched a fistful of Naruto's shirt in her hands. So Tama didn't betray them? She had, from the very beginning, protected her?

"You stupid whore! I'll-" Shouta was cut short with a punch to his pudgy face and was knocked to the ground. Tama growled and kicked him repeatedly.

"You killed my family, enslaved me and my entire village! You stole our earnings and to top it all off, you made me betray the one friend I have ever had!"

"What are you doing? I _own_ you!" Shouta the Collector was shocked. That enough was obvious. Naruto and Sakura were at a loss for words as they watched their comrade furiously beat the man.

"What am I doing?! This is something you should be all too familiar with Shouta!" The woman slammed her knees into the man's chest, pinning him where he laid and pulled out a senbon from her mussed hair. Her breath was jagged, but her aim was true. She held the sharp weapon right above one of Shouta's eyes. "_Revenge._"

"Holy shit…" Naruto breathed as he clutched onto Sakura's arm.

"Sakura! Naruto! If you leave now you can still beat out Haruka! I only gave him enough to make it half way there! Here, take this!-" Tama reached into a pouch behind her and tossed a bottle of dark liquid to the two. "It's only enough to get you part of the way there, but it should help you catch up! Go now!"

"But…" Sakura was torn. Such a big part of her wanted to stay here and kill the bastard for doing all of this to her family and friends. But the biggest part of her wanted to protect her child. Sakura turned to look at the Uzumaki and found him looking to the ground, his brow furrowed in thought. He took a deep breath and exhaled harshly. He was never one to leave a mission incomplete. Sakura pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and turned away from Naruto. If he didn't want to save his son, then fine. Sakura would go.

"Tama-chan." Sakura froze at the sound of his voice. "_We'll be back_. So you better save some of this bastard to kick around."

The kunoichi felt her heart swell at the thought of having Naruto with her to protect their son. She was such an idiot sometimes! How could she doubt that Naruto would come to protect his family? Sakura turned back to Naruto and pulled the cork from the bottle. The concoction's smell turned her stomach, but she plugged her nose and took a big gulp. It tasted like spoiled ramen and curdled milk. She handed the bottle to Naruto and he chugged the rest of the contents, his face instantly turning blue.

"Expert potion maker, terrible cook." He growled, his hand covering his mouth to force the drink down. He threw the bottle to the ground, shattering the container to pieces.

The potion began to work its magic. Sakura felt her blood boiling, and her heart pounding as it sent blood cells racing throughout her muscles. Her adrenaline was pumping and she felt like she could run the course of the Earth in minutes. The kunoichi grabbed her teammates hand and looked into his swirl of blue and red eyes. Naruto's chest was moving rapidly with his quick, rhythmic breathing.

Sakura took one more look at Tama and the gypsy woman nodded in knowing. The kunoichi turned back to the blond shinobi.

"Let's go!"

Trails of fire were left in their tracks.

* * *

It took them only twenty minutes before they could both pick up his scent. But it didn't matter, for all they had to do was follow the burning trail his feet left behind. Sakura and Naruto had indeed covered almost two days length run in under an hour. But Haruka's trail was drawing dangerously closer to Konoha than either of them expected. The potion must have been of a higher concentration than what Tama had explained. Sakura's muscles felt absolutely normal going at this insane speed. She couldn't even fathom how fast they were running. But would it be fast enough to beat out Haruka? They were merely _miles_ from the Gates of Konoha.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto called out, his voice rough, "I want you to answer my question."

"Naruto, I don't know if this is the right time…"

"When is it ever going to be the right time, Sakura-chan? There's always going to be something that will stand in our way, whether it's a mission or your hospital work. And I'm sick of all these stupid things that keep us from talking. I want you to answer me truthfully."

Sakura looked ahead, trying to keep her mind focused on the task at hand. But Naruto was right. _Kami_, the stupid idiot was right. And it made Sakura want to cry.

"Okay, _baka_."

Naruto was silent for a moment, leaving only the sound of the blurring wind and roar of the passing trees between them. Finally the shinobi spoke.

"Even if it's the smallest bit, no matter how tiny and completely insignificant…is there even a small part of you that loves me?"

Sakura's heart clenched tightly and she could feel her breath hitch despite the rapid flow of air she was processing. From those very lips came the question that so many people before had asked her. Does she love him? Her mind and heart had been plagued with her mixed feelings for so long, but now that she had found her answer, she was surprised that she couldn't come to a conclusion sooner. Because of their rapid speed, their was no possible way she could take her eyes off of her course to look at him, so she would have to deal with just saying the words for now. She could feel a blush come over her face as she finally began to say those long awaited words.

"Naruto, I lo-"

"_Shit_. There he is!"

_What?_

Sakura angrily looked around and sure enough, a mere few hundred yards ahead was Haruka. He had now slowed down to a regular human pace of running. Sakura knew that if he was out of the potion's power, than she and Naruto didn't have long either. She pushed her body for all it was worth in order to close the gap between them, and Naruto followed suit. Inside she screamed obscenities.

Her confession would have to wait.

Haruka was just one hundred yards away now, and Sakura could feel the effects of the concoction wearing off. She pushed her body even more to reach him. Just as the two shinobi came into the man's perimeters, Haruka spun around and released several senbon at the Konoha shinobi. Sakura dropped to the ground and rolled out of the weapons' paths, and Naruto flew over the senbon that came his way. The orange clad shinobi jumped right back up and tackled Haruka to the ground, digging a kunai into the enemy's shoulder.

"Your run ends here, asshole!"

"Oh but I so wanted to play around with that bouncing baby boy of yours, _Jinchuuriki_. And once I've delivered that little brat," Haruka turned to look towards Sakura, a sick smile on his face. "I'm gonna give that blossom the time of her life." He spat into Naruto's face and laughed manically and pushed the Uzumaki off of him. Sakura rushed over to Naruto, but he grabbed her hand, stilling her. The blond stood up, his eyes flaming red.

"_No one touches Sakura_," he said in a darkened tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, _Jinchuuriki_. But I don't give a flying fuck. No one touches Haruka. So once I hand that kid over to my boss, I'm gonna take her and then skin her pretty fair flesh from her body. And hang her corpse to dry like jerky."

Sakura felt like tearing this man's throat out. She reached for her kunai and looked up to find Naruto clutching Haruka by his throat. "My name is **not**_ Jinchuuriki_." The blond shinobi shouted into Haruka's ear before throwing him to the ground. "And don't you _EVER_ touch my family!" Fists went flying as Naruto pummeled Haruka with repeated blows.

Sakura's body was numb with shock, watching as he continuously beat the shinobi to a bloody mess. The medic-nin could already tell that Haruka would never be able to see out of his right eye ever again. And from the looks of it, his legs would not be moving anytime soon. But none of this mattered- she didn't feel anything but a rush of blood to her head as she processed Naruto's words.

_My family_

"Naruto…" Sakura walked over to the fighting shinobi and touched the blond's shoulder. "Naruto, that's enough." As much as Sakura wanted to torture this man to a quivering mess (which he was practically already at), they needed to get going. Whether it was to Konoha or back to Tama, they needed to go.

"No! This bastard is gonna get it!" Naruto swung at him, his body shaking with anger. He wasn't going to stop. Sakura bit her lip, her mind racing through her options. But she knew there was no other way around this. The kunoichi reached behind her and drew one of her kunai. Sakura took aim and threw it deep into Haruka's throat, killing him. But Naruto continued to relentlessly beat him.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing? He's dead!" Sakura grabbed hold of him, securing her arms around him in a tight hold. He struggled against her, his arms still trying to angrily punch the body. Sakura gathered her chakra into her arms, locking the shinobi in place. He thrashed against her for minutes, but eventually stilled, his breathing heavy and angered. The blond dropped his head down onto Sakura's shoulders and muffled his scream.

"_Gomenasai_, Sakura-chan…I…I just…" He wrapped his arms around Sakura and took a deep breath, exhaling his warm air into her pink tresses.

"I know…"

Sakura held him tightly, calming not only Naruto, but herself as well. Her heart was racing so quickly with just the thought of Naruto being protective over his _family_. He followed Sakura to come here and save their son. One he didn't know he had until an hour ago. The kunoichi finally broke the silence between them.

"Naruto…to answer your question…"

"…_Nani_?" Naruto lifted his head and looked into her green eyes.

"There isn't a small part of me that loves you."

Naruto's eyes widened as a look of pure hurt came across his face. He slowly dropped his arms from Sakura's waist and nodded lightly. "I…Sakura-chan…"

"_Baka._ There isn't a _part_. Not even a big part-"

"Sakura-chan you don't have to rub it in…" He looked away and Sakura rolled her eyes, tightening her grip around the lean but muscular man. Sakura obviously went about this the wrong way. This was Naruto she was talking with…

"Try the entire thing you idiot."

Naruto looked to Sakura, his brow knitting in confusion. But it only took a moment for him to grasp her words. "_N-NANI_???!!!" The biggest, goofiest (and toothiest) grin came across his face and Sakura felt that wonderful electric shock run down her spine. He could make her feel so wonderful with just a slight curve of his mouth.

"I love you _completely_, Naruto. Not with just a part of my heart, but all of it." Sakura rolled her eyes once more at the thought of this blond idiot having such control over her emotions. "I couldn't get rid of the feeling if I tried…"

"Sa-sakura-chan…" Naruto leaned in towards Sakura resting his head against hers. Sakura took in a deep breath, inhaling Naruto's wonderful, masculine scent.

"You're not going to cry are you, Dobe?"

The two lovers sat up stock straight.

"Te-teme?! What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto stood to his feet, helping Sakura to stand up beside him.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Sasuke turned and looked over to Sakura, his eyes sharpening. "He knows, I assume?"

Sakura looked to Sasuke and her eyes widened. "_You_ know about Toru?"

"Know?" If Sasuke could laugh, he would have at this moment. But, this was Sasuke Sakura was talking to… "Your little spawn has been annoying me for the last four hours. I hope you're finally here to retrieve him."

"We can't. We have to go and get Tama." Sakura looked to Naruto and he nodded. The woman turned back to Sasuke and found him looking past her and Naruto. His eyes were dripping with anger, and she could tell his Sharingan was going to flare on soon. Sakura turned and gasped.

"No need. I brought her." Shouta smiled sickly, gesturing to the corpse that lied by his feet.

_Tama._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This has taken quite a while. I want to thank my Beta reader, she has been eternally patient with me. Especially with this chapter…I pretty much forgot all of my lessons and just wrote the plot down. Thank you very much Rayestar! And thank you, my readers, for waiting so patiently. Now without further ado, here is chapter eight!**

* * *

"Tama…Tama…" Sakura dropped to her knees, her eyes never leaving that haunting, glassy white stare of Tama's lifeless body. She could have been sleeping for all Sakura knew…if it weren't for those eyes…those milky white eyes that wouldn't stop looking at her. This wasn't right, not at all. Sakura was supposed to defy fate and change the path that Tama had been set upon. Sakura had failed Tama and had failed herself once again.

"Tama…Tama…TAMAAAA!!!!!!!!!" Sakura could feel those tears she had long been forcing back come gushing through her in multiple bursts. Tama and her entire village had been enslaved by Shouta and made to do his bidding. Who knew how many nights Tama went to sleep in tears? Sakura had no right to cry—she wasn't the one who had their life cut short, yet she just couldn't stop herself.

"Ah, yes. Cry, my pretty kunoichi. Your tears can only bring me even more satisfaction about this slave's demise. What a shame you couldn't see me take the very life from her lips or see as her dark, vibrant eyes dulled with death. It was all too pleasing." Sakura continued to sob uncontrollably.

"Get up." Sasuke's words were terse, but somewhere in them Sakura could tell he had no intention of being rude. Somehow rudeness just came too naturally to the dark haired ninja. As much as she wanted to scream obscenities at the Uchiha and beat every living being that came into her vision, Sakura knew that she needed to stand. A ninja could not fight on their knees. Not if they wanted to live, anyways.

The kunoichi took several broken breaths and stood up with her fists clenched so tightly, she could feel her nails piercing through her gloves. Her body was shaking in anger and anguish. She felt a warm touch on her shoulder and looked to see Naruto glaring menacingly at Shouta. Sakura wiped her tears away and calmed her body and mind. She needed to keep her wits about her if she wanted to take this despot down.

Sakura brought her hands together and cracked her knuckles, releasing some long built tension in her hands.

"Ooh, getting serious?" Shouta's eyes sparked with laughter.

"Believe me, you son of a bitch, this is one side of me you should've never awakened." Sakura reached from behind her and pulled out three shuriken, each resting between the fingers of her right hand. She was itching to lodge each of them into his skull.

"Oh, but it's not you I want to awaken. However…I suppose if you want to play—" In a flash he stood before her, his hand cradling her chin. "Let's _play_." Before Sakura could react, the man grabbed her by her wrist and flipped her onto the ground. The kunoichi jumped back up, not missing a beat. There was no way she was going to get taken out with some simple move. She sent her weapons flying right towards the man's head, heart, and abdomen, opting to spread the attacks all over his body. Shouta barely dodged her assault, and instantly Naruto leapt after the man, his kunai sinking deep into the man's shoulder. Shouta hissed, his hands clutching onto the blond shinobi's arms. The two began to struggle.

"_Tch_, that _baka_. He fell right into his trap—" Sasuke had remained stoic, his eyes the only part of his body flickering every now and then.

"What do you—" Sakura looked to Naruto and gasped. "Naruto, _look away_!"

But it was too late. Sakura watched helplessly as Shouta's pupils widened, activating his power. Sakura watched as Naruto's body began to shake violently and his grip on Shouta loosened. A smile crept across the portly man's face as Naruto turned around. The blond shinobi's eyes were dulled and his face was vacant of his normal passionate look. He was a complete stranger to the woman.

"If I cannot control you, Sakura, I will control him to get to you." Shouta smiled happily, his face completely smug.

The kunoichi felt a cold grip wrap about her wrist tightly, stopping her from strangling the enemy.

"Don't move." Sasuke's eyes were turning into the familiar red and black; he was activating his Sharingan.

"Let me go." She was absolutely livid.

"You don't stand a chance against Naruto's strength."

A ball of fire blazed within the pit of Sakura's stomach as her anger began to overflow. She tore away from Sasuke's grasp and began to take her cloak off. "Don't you _ever_ tell me what I can and cannot do, Sasuke! I'm fucking sick and tired of having you and Naruto protect me. I can fight, and I can_ win._"

"Don't be foolish, Sakura. I won't have you getting in the way. With Naruto under that man's control, there's no stopping him from unleashing the _Kyuubi's_ power."

"He's not stupid, Sasuke. If he unleashes the _Kyuubi's _power now, he won't be able to control it. He needs Toru's chakra to be able to keep him in his mental grasp."

"Very clever, Sakura," Shouta said, "I'm going to have Naruto rip that annoying amulet from your throat so I can have you lead me to your son." A sick smile spread across the man's face as his words darkened with malice. "I was going to wait until I drained your son of his chakra to take control of your lover here, but you just decided to piss me off."

Sakura threw her cloak aside and tightened her gloves. She could feel the ball of fire in her stomach raging painfully with the thought of what Shouta intended to do with Naruto and their son. "Sasuke, you either fight with me or get the hell out of the way—because I'm not holding back." Sakura felt her chakra pulse violently like never before. She knew chakra was tied closely to ones' emotions, so maybe that was the reason she felt such strength. The pink haired woman took a deep breath and guided her chakra to the soles of her feet and to her tightly clenched fists. Sasuke almost rolled his eyes in reaction.

"_Tch,_ you're still annoying."

Sakura laughed out loud. "And you're still our teammate. So fight."

"Who said I wasn't going to?" Sakura looked to her dark haired teammate to see him lightly smirking. But the smile was short lived as they heard a chuckle rumble from the portly enemy.

Shouta lifted his hand and flicked a finger towards Naruto. The blond ninja's head snapped towards Sakura. The kunoichi's heart clenched, but she kept her wits about her. Naruto crouched low to the ground, his dulled eyes beginning to swirl with red. Sakura gasped.

"Already?" she whispered.

"Of course." Shouta overheard her. "I am not a man to waste an opportunity. Although I may not be able to bring out the demon completely, there is no reason I cannot use this _jinchuuriki's_ powerful chakra reserve."

To her side she heard Sasuke draw his katana.

"You're not going to hurt him, are you?" Sakura's heart was racing wildly, furiously pumping blood throughout her body. She needed to come up with some kind of attack plan in the next five seconds, or she could very well die. Naruto was being controlled by _The Collector_, who had a time limitation to his power. So if they fended off Naruto for five minutes, they could take down the weakened Shouta. Okay, that was simple.

"If that _dobe_ is stupid enough to get killed, it won't be my fault."

"_**Naruto,**_" Shouta said in a darkened tone,"_**get the necklace.**_"

Sakura felt a cold chill rush down her spine as she watched Naruto, her eyes tracking every slight flicker of motion from his body. There was no way she could have him take the amulet. That would not only mean her death, but Toru's as well. The blond ninja took off almost immediately towards Sakura at an insane speed. The kunoichi would not hesitate.

She coiled her arm back, her eyes locked onto her target. The moment he stepped into her line of fire, she rammed her fist into his abdomen. Sakura heard the air shoot out of his mouth as he flew across the forest floor, landing painfully into a tree. Sakura was breathing heavily, but it was not from lack of energy. Her anger was raging, and she knew that that would be the key to deciding the end of this fight.

A blur of colors shot in front of Sakura, followed by a loud clang. A shower of sparks floated about her as her vision righted itself to see Sasuke holding Naruto back with his katana. How did that idiot recover so quickly? Sakura growled and jumped over Naruto, rushing towards Shouta with her chakra enhanced speed. While Sasuke kept Naruto busy, she could take out the source… starting with his eyes. Sakura whipped out several senbon, her face darkening with hatred.

Shouta laughed as the kunoichi closed the gap between them. She snarled and leapt at him, one hand wielding the senbon, the other clenched and ready to break his bones. Shouta dodged her attack, but Sakura was quick to turn and grab his ankle. She hauled his body over herself and slammed him into the forest floor. The man growled as the smile on his face disappeared. He obviously couldn't handle his emotions too well, but why was Sakura the one to talk? The kunoichi threw her senbon down at him, but Shouta rolled out of the way just in time. The pink haired woman growled in anger and snatched the senbon back up from the ground.

Sakura jumped back towards him, her fists flying. Shouta brought out a blade and whipped it across Sakura's arm. It drew blood, but it was something that could be easily stitched up once this was all over. Sakura threw her fist out at him but missed narrowly, shattering a tree directly behind him.

"Missed—_tch._" Shouta suddenly winced, and Sakura watched as his eyes flickered from black to red. The man shot his gaze to the side of him, eyes filled with malice.

_What?_

"Your mind control is intriguing, Shouta." Sakura turned to see Sasuke clutching Naruto by his throat, his eyes marked with the Sharingan. Though his grip was firm on the shinobi, it wasn't life threatening. "You use the portal through their eyes to make your way in and simply overflow them with your own chakra, like sending yourself into them." Sasuke's eyes focused intently upon Shouta, the black and red colors swirling wildly. "No wonder you use such a massive amount of energy to do something like this. And you thought you could control the _Kyuubi_ with something as plain and common as this? How _naïve_… and _pathetic._" Sasuke smirked.

"Uchiha…" His attention was taken now, completely drawn in by Sasuke's words. He looked absolutely livid. Sakura looked to Sasuke, and for a moment she could've sworn he looked towards her, but it must've been a trick of the eye… She looked back to Shouta to see him completely taken in by his anger and pride.

"Your powers are nothing. All I had to do was freeze the flow of chakra within him. _Hn_. You truly are pathetic." Sasuke's body hadn't moved an inch save for his face. It was strange. Sakura looked at him more intently and saw that, in fact, his body wasn't moving one millimeter. He was keeping an intense concentration. Then it happened. Sasuke's eyes flickered once more to Sakura with such a determined look in them that it almost sent a shock of electricity through the woman. Sakura's eyes widened, and it clicked.

_NOW!_

Sakura sent her senbon flying, quick as sound, and landed them squarely into Shouta's unsuspecting eyes. The man screamed and dropped down to his knees, blood pouring down his face.

"How does it feel to lose something important to you, asshole?" Sakura was so angry, tears were pouring down her face.

A loud growl emitted from behind Sakura, and a burst of air whipped around her as Naruto raced past to jump on top of the wounded man. He must have immediately snapped out of the man's mental hold once Shouta's eyes were blinded. "You want to get in my head, you bastard? You want to see the demon in me so much?" Naruto reached behind him and unsheathed the dagger Tama had given him that mission so long ago. He held it to Shouta's throat and growled.

"Do you have any last words?" Though Shouta was breathing hard, and Sakura could tell he was in pain, a smile still cracked upon his bloodied face.

"You have until sunset tomorrow."

"What?"

A loud cackle emitted from the psychotic man, and Naruto finally snapped. He took the dagger and tore it across the man's throat, severing his life. Naruto's breathing was jagged, and Sakura could tell that if he was provoked any further, the demon within Naruto would have almost certainly made an appearance. Sakura sighed, taking in a deep breath. It was over, although the man's last words were a bit enigmatic. Sakura turned to Sasuke and gasped.

The Uchiha was sweating profusely, and from the looks of it, his chakra was damn near depleted. "Sasuke!" Sakura rushed to her teammate and grabbed an arm to support him.

"You…" Naruto got on the other side of Sasuke and helped lift him with Sakura. The dark haired shinobi was having trouble standing.

"_Lied,_" the Uchiha whispered harshly. "Although the technique was true, the power he had over Naruto was almost binding. I had to distract that pompous idiot so that you could take him out. But you were taking so damn long in figuring out the plan."

Sakura's face paled. "Was this what Shouta was talking about? Until sunset tomorrow?" Sasuke didn't say one word. He looked overly drained and his breathing looked labored. Sakura hoisted him up further, determined not to lose anyone else in her life. She suddenly stopped short and looked behind her.

"_Tama…_"

"Sakura-chan, we need to get Sasuke to Tsunade-baa-chan." Naruto's face was grim, but his eyes were sympathetic. "We can have someone sent here the second we get him there."

Sakura's heart was pounding with guilt, but Naruto was right. Right now Sasuke was in dire need of medical attention, and Tsunade-sama was the only one she trusted to attend to him.

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

"Hm, he's kinda cute for a spawn of that blond idiot. I would've expected pink hair, though. But then again, that's a good thing for the boy." The fifth Hokage sat at her desk, not with a bottle of sake in her hand (very surprising) but with one of warmed milk. And in her arm was the exact replica of Naruto Uzumaki save for those big green eyes that stared back at the older woman. Tsunade never in all of her life expected herself to be holding a baby—especially at the ripe age of…well, that was something no one would _ever _know. Nonetheless, she never thought she would be sitting in her office, feeding the child of her apprentice. But when Sasuke Uchiha came barging into her workplace with a baby attached to his back…_Kami,_ what a morning. And she hadn't had one ounce of sake yet. She was surprised she hadn't thrown anything at Shizune…yet. Must be a record… But then again, it was still morning.

"Tsunade-sama, shouldn't you be filling out that paperwork. I'll take Toru—"

The blonde woman threw a stamp at her assistant. Well, so much for the record. "Let me feed the damn boy. You go check on Kakashi and make sure he hasn't left the hospital yet. _Kami _knows he would." In reality, the Hokage just wanted a reason to not do all that trivial paperwork. It was tiring and boring, and it made her head hurt much worse than a hangover. But Kakashi should be checked on. He was known for hating hospitals and leaving to heal on his own. So many house visits had to be made by Sakura, the poor girl.

"Tsunade-sama, at least let me go put him down for a nap…"

The head ninja looked down to the little boy who had somehow, in that past minute, managed to fall asleep with his head nestled into her generous bosom. Tsunade rolled her eyes and handed Shizune the child and let the woman go. _Damn, so much for that excuse_. Now she'd have to get to look over those papers sent from that Nara boy.

Speaking of which—

"Shizune! What's the status on the—"

"TSUNADE-BAA-CHAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!"

"Naruto?" Why would he be here? Unless…

"Shissou!" The doors to her office slammed open, and there stood Naruto and Sakura holding up an unconscious Sasuke.

* * *

"His chakra is depleted. If he had held back _The Collector's_ chakra any longer, he would've…" The Hokage didn't finish her sentence. There was no need to delve into something that hadn't happened. Sakura stood next to her shissou, looking apprehensively over her shoulders. Sasuke had sunk into unconsciousness approximately ten minutes from the Hokage's office. Despite what her teacher said, depending on how much of his chakra he actually used, the Uchiha might just sink into a coma…

Sakura felt her mind darken with guilt. If only she had paid closer attention to what Sasuke was doing—to his signals, then he wouldn't have had to use so much of his power. If only she had followed Tama's words more closely or killed that despot back at the headquarters, her gypsy friend would've never been killed. If only she had been strong enough, Naruto wouldn't have been taken control of in the first place. She had made so many stupid decisions that had caused all the people around her to be hurt.

She felt a warm hand touch her back, and she jumped. Turning around, she saw a pair of vibrant blue eyes softening their gaze towards her. Sakura couldn't help it; her heartbeat picked up rapidly at just the sight of Naruto being in front of her. Her mind flickered back to that moment in the forest where she had finally told him her true feelings for him. Unfortunately, her guilt was much more powerful at that moment, so the smile she tried to bring to her face didn't reach her eyes.

"It's not your fault, Sakura-chan. Sasuke knew what he was doing."

"You two need to go to the main office and have a medic-nin look over you." Tsunade-shissou was hooking Sasuke up to an IV and looking through all the monitors, checking his heart rate and blood pressure. It looked stable to the pink haired kunoichi, but things could change in a wind's breath.

"Shissou, I'm fine—" It was true. She felt perfectly fine thanks to those potions Tama made.

"Sakura, you _will_ see a doctor for physical or mental conditions. You've been through a lot these past several months, and PTSD tends to hit when you least expect it. Go, the both of you. Sasuke will be fine." Her words lost their power with the last sentence, and the two teammates felt a cold chill rush over them.

Sakura suddenly sparked with hope. "Shissou," she said as she reached behind her, "give this to Sasuke." She still had one bottle of the concoction Tama had made to stimulate her chakra flow and to help strengthen her body. This could very well bring Sasuke out of his unconscious state.

"Components?"

"_Perpetro_ root mixed with the juices from the _Vigoratus_ plant."

"Place of origin?"

"Two days travel from here in a field next to the Gypsy Village called _Antiquus Angelus_. Translated into the_ Old Angel_.

"Preparation?"

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, her mind flashing back to Tama's medical hut. She could just see the woman working through the steps with careful hands.

"The _Pertetro _root was grinded using a stone mortar and pestle while the _Vigoratus_ plant was pressed of the liquid using a flat stone, a red clay colander and a red clay mixing bowl. The powder was poured into said bowl and then stirred together with the liquid using a simple wooden spoon for approximately four minutes and twenty-five seconds. Then the concoction was placed into the metal vial that you hold. It must be orally ingested." She didn't even take one breath between her sentences.

Tsunade-shissou smiled. "Good girl."

Sakura smiled in return. It felt great to be praised.

"Now, the both of you go," the Hokage barked.

"Tsunade-baa-chan…about what Shouta said." Naruto took a few steps ahead of Sakura, shifting the placement of his hand from Sakura's back to her hand. His grip was firm but gentle. "He said that we have until sunset tomorrow."

"Hn. Well, I already had the ANBU squad weed through the city and the surrounding forest. There's nothing suspicious. We even had a thorough autopsy of Tama's body—"

"Shissou!"

"We can't take any chances, Sakura. We even checked _The__ Collector's _body, and Haruka's. He could have planted a bomb inside that could have been set off by the predetermined time." The older woman's eyes hardened. "The coroner found nothing, however. It could have been just a fluke."

"But…" Sakura's hand was trembling, even though she tried to steady it. "What if he was talking about Sasuke?"

"His condition is stable, and with the potion, he should recover quickly thanks to you, Sakura. If _The __Collector's_ aim was Sasuke, then he was duly thwarted." Tsunade-shissou looked down to the Uchiha, her eyes sharpening slightly.

"Now as your Hokage, I am ordering the both of you to seek medical attention immediately. Then, once you're cleared, you're free to go. But…" The blonde woman turned to look at the two teammates, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'm pretty damn sure you have something else of an important matter to see to in Shizune's office."

Sakura caught on instantly and felt her heart flutter. It had felt like forever and a day since she had seen Toru. And with the thought of Naruto finally meeting his son, she damn near passed out. Sakura felt the warm hand holding hers tighten slightly. She looked to her side and locked eyes with Naruto. It was time.

* * *

"Press the stethoscope a little more to the right, Kyou." Sakura was sitting in a cold chair in a room next to where Naruto was having his own check-up. She thought that it would be a quick run-through, but because they were understaffed today, the two teammates had to have interns do their check-up. The kunoichi even wrapped up her own wound where Shouta had sliced his blade against her. Sakura sighed inwardly as the ever so clumsy Kyou fumbled with the sphygmomanometer to take her blood pressure.

Suddenly a high pitched scream sounded from the room next to them, followed by a loud crash.

"I'M TELLING YOU, DAMMIT, I'M FINE! I'M JUST NERVOUS!!" Naruto's voice boomed through the thin walls, and Sakura felt her anger twitch to life. She never liked having people yell in the hospital.

"Excuse me a moment, Kyou?"

"_Hai_, Haruno-san, of course." Sakura stood up from the cold chair and briskly walked out of the room to the next room's door. She took a deep breath and tried to cool her anger. She would not lose it in the hospital.

"JUST SIGN THE DAMNED FORM SO I CAN GO!" Sakura could feel his voice vibrate through the door. She clenched her teeth and rapped her fist on the door. Having no response, the kunoichi opened the door to find the room in complete bedlam. Chairs were turned over, equipment was thrown all over the place, and worst of all—Sakura could smell blood.

"Haruno-san!" A soft voice sounded from the corner. Sakura turned to find a teary eyed female intern strapping a wild looking Naruto into a chair. His mouth had been gagged. "Thank _Kami_ you're here!" She rushed to the pink haired woman and wrapped her shaking arms about her. "He wouldn't stay still, and the Hokage said if I didn't do a legitimate check-up, she would fire me! And when I found that his heart rate was abnormally high—" A muffled shout interrupted the woman. Sakura looked to Naruto and glared daggers. Instantly the blond shinobi went silent.

"Naruto, if I have Fumiyo take off the gag, are you going to behave?" Naruto nodded fervently, and Sakura looked to the intern, nodding. Fumiyo walked cautiously towards the man and removed the bandages from his mouth.

"SAKURA-CHAN, I—"

"_What did I just say, baka?_" Sakura walked briskly towards him and grabbed the idiot by his collar. "Lower your voice."

Naruto nodded. "Sakura-chan, it wasn't my fault my heart rate was high or whatever. I was nervous!"

The kunoichi rolled her eyes and loosened her grip on his collar, though she kept her hand in place. "And why were you nervous, Naruto? You should be used to these routine check-ups as a shinobi." Sakura refused to believe he was nervous because it was a female intern giving him the check-up. Otherwise, she might have very well lost it.

"I...was nervous…because...we're going to see…_him_." Sakura watched as the Uzumaki's eyes softened greatly. The woman's hands dropped in surprise and her mouth opened slightly to respond. But she couldn't find any words to say. Of course Naruto was nervous! He was about to meet his newborn son for the first time. Sakura could be a complete idiot sometimes.

"Fumiyo, sign the Release Form." Sakura finally found her words. Naruto's eyes widened and a large toothy grin spread across his face. Sakura smiled back and began to untie the bandages that restrained the shinobi to the chair. Fumiyo was a lot stronger than the kunoichi thought. She might have to pay closer attention to her once the reviews came into season.

"Eh? But Haruno-san, the Hokage—"

"She won't fire you, Fumiyo." Hell, Shissou might promote her on the spot for tying up Naruto. "Not when we're so understaffed these days. Besides, she'll take it out on me…and most likely Naruto as well." Sakura finally got the last bandage loosed, and Naruto stood up warily.

"O…okay, Haruno-san."

"Tell Kyou to do the same."

"_H-Hai._"

Sakura gently took Naruto's hand, and both began to walk towards Shizune's office. The kunoichi's heart was pounding so furiously, and she was sure Naruto's was in the same nerve-racking condition. Would Toru look any different, even though it had only been a couple of days? What about Naruto? How would he react to seeing his own flesh and blood?

And there they were, standing one foot in front of Shizune's office door. Sakura looked to her teammate and took a deep breath.

"Naruto, I've wanted to apologize for so long about not telling you anything…" The kunoichi bit her lip nervously, her eyes falling to the ground.

"Sakura-chan…"

"It's taken me so long to realize just how important you are in my life and to tell you that you have a family all of a sudden—" Suddenly the kunoichi felt a pair of warm but clumsy lips lock onto hers. The woman felt a shock of electricity shoot through her body, and almost naturally her free hand laced its fingers through Naruto's hair. It was almost too soon that the blond shinobi pulled away.

"Do you know how long I've waited to hear those words?" The Uzumaki was grinning devilishly and his breath was short, but his eyes were sharp with gravity. His free hand took hold of Sakura's other hand and wrapped her around him into a tight embrace. He said nothing else, but he held her close…and that was enough. Sakura burrowed her head into Naruto's chest, breathing in his warm and comforting scent. It instantly calmed her.

"Are you ready?" She felt his voice vibrate through his chest. Sakura lifted her head to look at him, her eyebrow cocked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

The door to Shizune's office opened suddenly. "Oh! S-Sakura-chan! N-N-Naruto-kun!"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Hin-Hinata? What are you doing here?" She pulled away from Naruto, her face turning a bright flaming red from being caught in such an intimate position. But Sakura opted to keep her hold onto Naruto's hand.

"W-Well, I wanted to talk with the H-Hokage about my next mission. But Shizune-chan told me that she was attending to Sasuke-kun. And…t-that's when I noticed th-th-the baby." Hinata's pale eyes instantly looked to Naruto, and she smiled gently. "He looks just like you, N-Naruto-kun." Sakura could hear the man gulp, and his hand turned clammy. The pink haired woman squeezed his large hand slightly.

"Hinata? May we…?"

"Oh! O-of course!" Hinata instantly moved aside and Sakura could see it: a small crib lying atop Shizune's desk…Toru. Sakura could feel tears already welling up. She pulled gently on Naruto and led him into the office and towards their son. Sakura reached the crib first, and her green eyes widened at the sight of her baby peacefully sleeping. His blond hair was tousled, but his skin had a warm and healthy glow to it. The kunoichi could've sworn he had grown an inch or two since she last saw him. He looked absolutely beautiful.

"That's my…" Sakura nearly jumped at the sound of Naruto's voice. She was completely drawn in by her child. Sakura took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst. She didn't know how Naruto would react to seeing his son. The kunoichi turned around and lost her breath. The blond had a look of absolute wonder and amazement shining in his blue eyes. He stepped closer, and the pink haired woman watched as the shinobi carefully reached out to touch his newborn child for the very first time. And it was at that moment, Toru opened his eyes. Naruto gasped.

* * *

In all of his life, there had only been one thing Naruto Uzumaki had ever wanted from the bottom of his heart. Something so simple and commonplace that no one around him could really understand: he wanted a family to call his own. And though in the past years he had come to realize that his friends were indeed like a family, he had always had that thought in his head. And now there he stood, beside the most beautiful woman in the world, looking down at the most beautiful child he had ever seen. And the moment his son- _his son_- opened his eyes, Naruto knew that there was nothing that he would ever want again. He was perfect. He had those beautiful green eyes that the shinobi couldn't get enough of—and to top it off, his son looked just like him! Naruto's hand trembled above his child, Toru, and his blue eyes locked onto those big, beautiful green orbs.

"Naruto…" The shinobi turned to look at a matching pair of emerald eyes and smiled through his tears. Naruto didn't deserve this, such a perfect gift. Sakura-chan was in love with him! After all the years of wondering what the hell was going on in that woman's mind, he was finally granted a glimpse. And it was a complete oasis. Then to find out that he had been granted the only wish he had ever had…he couldn't help but cry. Finally…_finally_ he had a family to call his own. Below him lay a child with their blood running through his veins. Naruto laughed, his body shaking with the release of tension, sadness, anger, all those emotions that had built up inside of him all of those years.

"Sakura…thank you." His words were shaky and what he thought pretty damn lame—but it was all his mind could muster at that moment. He wrapped his arms around Sakura and took a deep and satisfying breath. "_Thank you_."

"Naruto…" Her voice was soft and soothing as her arms gently wrapped around him.

* * *

A cough sounded from the door, and Sakura looked up to see Shizune and the Hokage. Sakura let go of Naruto gently, noticing that they had something to tell them. "Shissou?"

"Sasuke's awake. The potion worked, and I'm having some people sent out to collect more of the plants to make extra stock of the potion." Tsunade-shissou smiled. "How's the squirt?"

The kunoichi's smile widened. "He's doing great, Shissou." Sakura leaned over the crib and picked Toru up. The baby instantly smiled and pressed his warm hands against Sakura's face.

"And the father?"

Naruto's eyes were locked onto his son's so intently he didn't take any notice of the Hokage's words. Sakura answered in his place. "He's the usual psychotically happy Naruto." The blond shinobi looked up at her words and smiled a boyish grin. He was beside himself with happiness.

"Well then, I suppose you two will be happy to know that I'm granting you a one month vacation. I expect you to use it accordingly."

"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto shouted, and instantly the baby began to cry. Naruto clamped his hand over his mouth and had the look of a dejected puppy. Sakura instantly began to tend to Toru, rubbing her hand gently across his back and whispering softly to him.

"Maybe you can use the time to condition Toru to Naruto's outbursts." Tsunade-shissou walked over towards Sakura and placed a calm hand onto the baby, a smirk curling her mouth.

"Hey, Tsunade-baa-chan? I guess this really makes you a grandma, huh?" The smirk disappeared from the shissou's face and she pulled away from the now peaceful Toru.

"Go home now before you lose the chance to have any more kids."

* * *

It wasn't that far of a walk to Sakura's apartment, but the kunoichi felt like her body was weighed down with hundreds of pounds. Toru barely weighed eight, yet the pink haired woman's muscles were beginning to weaken.

"Sakura-chan, let's just go to my apartment! It's closer."

"Naruto, we already discussed this. Your apartment doesn't meet basic health standards, and I won't have Toru be subjected to something like that." Maybe she was having withdrawals from the potion? But Tama assured her that there weren't any side effects and that within three days she would be able to maintain her own chakra levels. She could just be fatigued from the previous events. That made sense- besides her symptoms weren't similar to those of a withdrawal. Her breathing was slightly off- that could be caused by fatigue. She would just get some rest the moment she put Toru down for a nap and everything would be fine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the medic-nin, so she carried on, occasionally barking at Naruto.

"Sakura-chan, why don't you let me carry Toru? You look really tired…" Naruto touched her shoulder gently, and Sakura smiled. What was the harm of him carrying Toru? He wasn't _that_ incapable of taking care of another living being. Well, she hoped. Sakura nodded and carefully handed the Uzumaki their son and watched as a childlike smile covered his face. This was the first time Naruto held his son. The image was absolutely heaven to the kunoichi. They carried on walking, and Sakura was soon thankful she had handed Toru over to Naruto. Her body was screaming for some sleep.

"BILLBOARD BROW!!!!!" A pair of overzealous arms wrapped around Sakura and squeezed tightly.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura turned around to see a pair of pale blue eyes brimming with tears. "What's wrong?"

"Why the hell wouldn't you come and see me after arriving in Konoha? I heard you already saw Hinata! So why wouldn't you come to see me?!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto and I had to take Sasuke to the hospital and we had some things to do and we met Hinata in Shizune's office …" Sakura looked over to Naruto and Toru and almost laughed. Both boys had the same look of surprise on their face at the sight of Ino. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were opened in shock.

"So the idiot finally got to meet his spawn?"

"HEY! That's my son you're talking about!"

"Ah, Ino. Are you causing trouble again?" Shikamaru came sauntering towards the three and looked at his wife. Ino blushed furiously.

"Of course not! I was only being a concerned best friend and wondering why no one has come to see me!"

"Maybe because Naruto was a bit busy meeting his kid for the first time." Ino's mouth clamped shut at that. Shikamaru sighed and plopped his palm atop Ino's head. "You really are troublesome, aren't you?" Ino blushed and looked away. Shikamaru looked towards Naruto and smirked. "How's fatherhood?"

Naruto gave a thumbs-up and laughed. "Pretty damn sweet."

Sakura snapped instantly. "HEY! DON'T CUSS AROUND TORU,_ BAKA!_" She slapped him upside his head and growled.

"Ah! _Gomen nasai,_ Sakura-chan!!" Naruto looked down to Toru. "Forget what I just said, okay?" The little boy smiled back a gummy grin that looked all too reminiscent of his father's.

"You two really are quite the pair…" Shika laughed and took hold of Ino's hand. "Come on, we're late for our appointment as it is."

"Appointment?" Sakura looked between the two and saw the blush on Ino's face deepen. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah. It seems to be that Ino might be pregnant."

"WHAT?!" Sakura's heart jumped and a smile cracked onto her face. "Ino-pig, that's so great!!!" Sakura's head was swirling with the news.

"Well, that's what I wanted to tell you when you came back…"

"Ino…" Sakura gave a hearty hug to her friend, though her arms were pretty weak. They needed to be on their way. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Of course, billboard brow. I'm not the one to hold back any juicy details about the conception."

"_Ino._" Shika pulled on his wife's hand, and they were off. Sakura laughed lightly and turned to Naruto and Toru. Both were smiling at her happily.

"Let's go home," she said. She really needed to rest. Apparently Ino's news was really affecting her—her head just wouldn't stop buzzing. And her muscles were aching so much and her skin was now slick with sweat.

Something was wrong. Sakura went through her deep expanse of medical knowledge and went through her symptoms: weak and pained muscles, dizziness, shortness of breath, cold sweat—possibly a fever. She closed her eyes for a mere moment and sensed it. There was a foreign presence in her blood. Infection? No, even Kyou would've been able to sense a cold during the check-up. Where could she have picked the foreign contaminant up? Everything was sterilized in the hospital. Unless she received it when her wound was opened? But the only thing that could really have these symptoms and not have been detected would be…

_Poison._

Sakura gasped. How could she have not known when Shouta brought out that weapon?! The kunoichi could feel her heartbeat quicken and her breath become jagged. She needed to get to the hospital _now_.

"Na…ruto…" Her voice was weak and fading fast. Her vision was becoming blurry and she knew that within mere moments she would lose consciousness. She saw the blond shinobi turn just in time to see her fall to ground. Everything went black, but one word remained in her mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is the SECOND to last chapter  
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** T_T Oh, how I love this story.**

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* * *

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Ino Nara sat impatiently on top of a very hard and very cold table, waiting for that nervous looking boy named Kyou to return with the results, although it was really just a formality. Ino's medic training might not be as extensive as her best friend Sakura's, but she damn well knew she was pregnant. And her husband was Shikamaru Nara for _Kami's_ sake. He was able to tell she was pregnant with just one look at her. It was Ino's father that told them to make it official at the hospital and receive an exact due date. Ino sighed in annoyance and looked to her side to see Shika leaning back against a chair, probably counting the ceiling tiles for the thousandth time. It was at that moment that Ino heard it.

She had never heard this kind of sound before…or maybe she had, but not to this degree. From somewhere outside of the hospital, a loud and painful cry pierced through the windows and walls of the building. It shook Ino to her very bones and sent a haunting chill down her spine. Ino and Shika were on their feet in seconds, rushing to the window, and both their eyes scanned the grounds for the source of such a mournful howl. It didn't take long to find the source.

"Ino, stay here." Shika was on his way to the door, but Ino already beat him there. The blonde said nothing, which was a shock, even to herself. But her eyes said it all for her. Shika sighed.

"Just listen to my directions, okay?"

Ino nodded, and they ran in a flash out of the hospital and down to the grounds where Naruto crouched over Sakura's body. Ino stopped short and gasped. In one arm, Naruto held the bawling Toru, and with the other hand he apprehensively hovered over Sakura. He looked completely distraught with tears streaking his face and his eyes flickering between Toru and the woman. His mouth was agape, like he was trying to find words to muster out besides the painful cries that kept tearing out of him. Ino had never seen the Uzumaki so…helpless before. Finally the blond shinobi lifted his gaze to the two, and the look of absolute hurt in his eyes shattered Ino's heart.

"Sh-sh-she's…she's not breathing…" His voice was weak and broken. Toru cried on, the infant knowing that something was wrong with his mother. Shika immediately rushed down to the fallen pink haired woman and pressed his fingers to her jugular vein. Ino looked at her best friend, and her eyes sharpened suddenly. Something was amiss…at first glance it looked like she was poisoned. But something in the back of Ino's mind said—

"Ino, take Toru and go get the Hokage. _Now._" Shika's voice was strong and demanding.

The kunoichi nodded, shaking her head of the negative thoughts. She was in front of Naruto in a second and held her arms out gently. It only took a moment to realize that the Uzumaki would not budge. His watery blue eyes stayed on Sakura as his shaking hand finally gathered up enough courage to touch the pink haired woman's cheek. Ino took the sobbing infant from the shinobi and was off. She would discuss her thoughts with Shika the moment she returned.

* * *

It was cold…and pitch-black. Sakura winced, feeling a jabbing pain in the back of her head. Her heart pounded furiously as her mind was reminded of those nightmares she had months ago. This was much too familiar…

_Why is it so dark?_

Sakura moved her hand and felt something cold and hard to her right. She felt along her side and found several similar objects beside her. They felt just like bars…_bars?_

Sakura began to slowly process the possibilities: a hospital bed? But these did not feel like the usual aluminum that they would have in their hospital beds. These had more of a rusted iron texture to them. Her possibilities were dwindling down to nothing as she tried to figure out her exact location. She was with Naruto and Toru just a moment ago—

"…_pulse is weak…"_

Sakura's eyes snapped open to the darkness as the echo of those words vibrated in her eardrums. Where did that come from? That sounded just like Shissou.

Where the hell was Sakura?

"_Fumiyo, get her hooked up to the medical ventilation…"_

That was definitely her shissou. Was she in the next room? But it sounded so much closer…as if her sensei were right next to her. Sakura groaned in pain as she reached behind her head to rub her neck. Her body ached, but not as bad as when she was walking home with Naruto and Toru—

"…_Sakura-chan…"_

There it was. That voice that she had come to recognize anywhere. "Naruto?" The kunoichi's voice was weak, but it echoed around her, as if she were in some cavernous room. If only she could just have some light—

And in an instant a faint glow from some unknown source poured a greenish light around the woman, illuminating the area all around her. She was in a _cell_. The bars that she felt were thick iron bars that rippled out for about twenty feet in length, and each bar reached up to about twelve feet. Her cell ground was generous—but the length was much longer than the depth. It gave her the ability to walk but not to hide. And beyond her prison—

"Well done, Ms. Haruno."

_Shouta_.

He had a look of complete victory in his red eyes. The kunoichi swallowed her scream of surprise. He was_ alive?! _Sakura's green eyes scanned him, finding absolutely no sign of injury or any clue that he had been in a fight. He wore a grey suit and his dark hair was slicked back into a greasy style. He looked absolutely fine.

"What…"

"Well, you should know where you are. This _is_ your domain. Well," Shouta smiled maliciously, "…not for long."

Sakura glared harshly towards the man and snarled. "What are you talking about? How the hell are you still alive? _And where are we?_"

The man laughed haughtily and sauntered his way to Sakura, his hands lightly touching the iron bars. "Death can be a tricky thing, Sakura. You should know that, being one of the most talented medic-nins in all of the Fire Country." He took slow steps, walking along the cell. "Did you really think that I could be defeated so easily by a simpleton like the Uchiha?" His red eyes flickered to Sakura's neck. "…Or that pesky amulet? HA! No. Of course not! I am Shouta, the mighty mentalist of the Great Island of the Twin Suns. I could never be vanquished. And as to your last question…we, my dear blossom, are in _your _mind."

It felt like a shot of lightning stuck her head. Sakura swallowed a painful scream and clutched her head. "My mind?" Suddenly she felt a warmth spread across her left hand, almost as if…

"…_go get the test results and the herbalist…"_

"_Naruto, you need to let go of her hand—"_

"_NO!!"_

"Ah, I see you've caused quite the ruckus, my pretty little kunoichi. Your loved ones must be pestering about wondering what has happened to you. But it's too late! Sunset is drawing closer, and with each passing minute, you will lose the control you have over your own mind. And you shall bestow it unto me…how very generous of you."

"But this was only a poison—"

"_Tsk, tsk_, Sakura. Nothing is whatever it seems. My chakra is unlike those of you on the mainland. On the island of the Twin Suns, our chakra is directly linked with our conscience. We're fanatics about the mind and the subconscious." His eyes glittered with absolute glee. "I laced the blade with my chakra, and the moment I sunk my blade into your flesh, I entered your body—unbeknownst to you, of course. That is, until the moment you passed out. What a wonderful revelation it must have been to realize you were bamboozled."

"You fucking _monster_."

"It was only an insurance ploy. And call me all the names you want, Sakura. You won't be here for long. In about…oh, I'd say a little less than an hour, the floor beneath you will crumble and collapse. And you shall fall into the caverns of your subconscious—a prisoner of your own mind for the rest of your life- while _I_, on the other hand, shall take over your body and continue my plans of having that _jinchuuriki _destroy the country that left my home in ruins."

"The Fire Country did no such thing," Sakura growled.

"Such a naïve woman you are, Ms. Haruno. Your country is not of the noble upstanding that you paint it to be. The Fire Country is comprised of merciless, bloodthirsty cowards—as are all the other countries that surround it. They care for no one—even when we cried for help, no one came." Shouta's eyes grew muddy and dark. "And your lover just happens to be my weapon of choice in this plan of extermination."

"Extermination?"

"Yes. I am going to slaughter every being that walks this land and all that are connected to it."

"But what will you have left to rule after everyone's dead?" Sakura felt sick. This man was a psychotic murderer. He made the Akatsuki sound like sniveling little brats!

A smile spread across his pudgy face. "Rule? My dear, who ever said I wanted to _rule _anything? I am only in it for the _blood_. Once I kill all that live, I will release my hold on the _jinchuuriki_ and watch him as he cries out for his beloved and all those he has slain. Then I shall kill us both, ending the pathetic existence of this human race."

Sakura looked into his eyes and knew he spoke no lie. This man…no, this _demon,_ was pure evil. He spoke of total annihilation of the world. He was the kind of man who would find pleasure in the blood that would soak the ground once his plan was set into action. The kunoichi knew she needed to stop him. But this was new territory to Sakura. She had never been sunk into the depths of her mind this far before—not where actual objects and locations had been manifested. Did she have any strength in here? Could she even conjure chakra to her…well—_manifestation_?

It seemed impossible.

* * *

Naruto felt empty. He had never felt like a shell before, but he supposed the title of _jinchuuriki_ fit perfectly well right now. His heart was aching horribly and he couldn't stop his stupid self from crying. What a fucking idiot he was! Sakura was in pain and he didn't even notice! She had fallen to the ground, unconscious, and all he could do was _cry_. Just sit there with Toru and cry. He knew that he could never be that happy for too long. Life was never that kind…not to him, at least. Naruto's eyes drifted down to Sakura, and he squeezed her hand.

Ever since Team Seven was created, he knew he could never amount to the maturity that Sakura was at, but at least he knew he could help her in his own way. He protected her with every chance he got. And the one moment when it counted the most—he was useless. Sakura was so powerful with her healing _jutsu_ and her inhuman strength…to just see her like that sent a shockwave of absolute horror throughout the Uzumaki's system. He didn't understand what was wrong with her.

_**You would if you'd use me, Kit. You could see what's inside her right now…**_

No. Naruto refused to rely on the _Kyuubi _power. It was too chaotic, even with all the training Jiraiya-sensei had given him on how to manipulate and control it. It used to scare him when he was younger—all of the power of the _Kyuubi _that lay dormant within the prison of Naruto's body and mind. But now he knew it was a part of him. Something that he would have to face sooner or later…Wait…

_What's inside her? I thought it was poison._

_**You refuse to use my power, Kit. I would not dare go against your wishes.**_

Naruto snarled. _Don't fuck with me. You brought it up. So finish it up._

_**Hn. Not unless you show me some respect, boy. But…**__**I suppose if you want that cherry blossom girl to die…**_

Naruto felt his heart clench tightly, and the palm that was held against Sakura-chan's limp hand began to sweat. He refused to leave her side, even when Tsunade-baa-chan threatened him with a year long suspension and house arrest—he didn't care. He would _not_ leave her. So he stayed alongside Sakura as the Hokage came in every five minutes or so. The older woman was obviously worried about her apprentice. There were so many lives that Sakura had affected...

Naruto tightened his hold on Sakura's hand as he focused on her face, even though it was obstructed by all the tubes from the life-support machine they hooked her up to. He could just imagine the beautiful pink haired woman opening her big, beautiful green eyes to yell at him for doing something wrong, like breathing too loudly…

_Please yell at me, Sakura-chan. Say something—ANYTHING._

_**You can't hide anything from me, Kit. I am you as much as you are me. You want to save that girl and you are willing to risk our lives for it.**_

_What are you getting at?_

_**Do you want to use my power?**_

Naruto knew without a doubt that if there was even a slight chance of saving Sakura, he would race to the ends of the earth for it. The demon within him knew it, too.

_What do you want in return?_

_**I see you know me all too well.**_

_I am you as much as you are me._

…_**Very well…I want to eat Shouta's SOUL.**_

_Shouta—?_

The door behind Naruto opened, startling the shinobi. He turned around, and his eyes widened into saucers. Sasuke Uchiha leaned against the now closed door, his eyes sharpening intensely upon seeing Naruto. The Uzumaki could feel him prying into his mind, sensing the stirring presence within the orange clad shinobi.

"Well, _dobe_, looks like you've got no choice." Naruto twitched in anger at the name, but his mind caught the dark haired shinobi's words.

"I always have a choice." Naruto looked down to Sakura, missing the Uchiha's eyes roll in annoyance. "This just happens to be one of life or death."

_**I knew you would see it my way. Even the Uchiha brat understands.**_

_Okay, then. What do I have to do?_

"You'll need me, _dobe_." Sasuke stood on the opposite side of Sakura and looked down onto her in what looked like indifference, but after knowing the dark haired ninja for years, Naruto could tell he at least didn't want Sakura to die. That was pretty damn sentimental for the usually unemotional bastard.

"For what?"

"To get inside her mind."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"A small mistake on my part—and something that I will not let happen again. Shikamaru? Would you like to explain?" Sasuke looked to the door, and Naruto followed his gaze to find not only Shika standing in the room now, but also his wife and Sakura's best friend, Ino.

"Well, it was Ino that really saw what had happened—her specialty being in that area." Shika shrugged and turned to his wife. Ino approached the two men and looked down to Sakura, and Naruto could see her eyes water with tears.

"Well, it's a guess, but I'm pretty sure it's what's wrong with Sakura." Ino took a deep breath. "I never really thought about this until now because…I mean, it's only a story my dad told me. Anyway, I never paid attention to him at first because I thought he was absolutely nuts. My mom would always roll her eyes and tell me to just smile and nod—"

"_Ino._" The woman blushed at her husband's voice and nodded.

"My dad… told me about this island far off from the mainland, called the Island of the Twin Suns. The people there were nuts and worshipped the psyche like it was a god or something. They developed ways to control people's minds by just looking at them and sending their chakra into them razor fast. Their chakra was directly connected to their conscience- like it was a life force for them, but not renewable like ours is (to a point). When they use the power to control people's minds, they use a great amount of their chakra, almost to complete depletion. And that's where their second development of power came into play. They were able to feed off of other people's chakra. But eventually the entire island went mad with power and was destroyed because they killed each other by feeding on each other's energy. My dad would always scare me saying that one islander remained and that he would come to eat my chakra if I didn't do my chores or whatever."

Ino took a deep breath. "As for Sakura's condition…" She made her way around Sakura's hospital bed and touched the bandaged wound on the incapacitated woman's arm. "There was an even more terrifying part to my dad's story. He said that they could manipulate their chakra like it was a _poison _or a _virus_. They could feed their power directly into someone and send their entire entity into them with the loss of ever returning to their own body. It's like a last resort, in case their original body was about to die. I think Shouta may have sent a shot of his chakra directly into Sakura's blood stream with a weapon. And… he might be in her mind right now…"

Naruto's mind swam with all this information. Shouta was alive? But he cut that bastard's throat himself! All of this was just going way over his head.

"What about what he said, then? _You have until sunset tomorrow_." Tomorrow being today…Naruto's stomach clenched tightly.

Ino shifted uncomfortably and looked to Shika. Naruto growled, knowing the face of bad news when he saw it. "What is it, dammit?!"

Shika decided to speak next. "It takes a little under two days for the host to completely take over the body…permanently."

Naruto stared at him blankly. "What the fuck are you saying?" Naruto wasn't dumb. He was in denial.

"If what I heard is correct, Sakura has until sunset tonight before she loses control over her own body and mind. Shouta will override her. And it seems to be that Sasuke's Sharingan is the key to entering her state of mind and that the _Kyuubi's _power seems to be the only thing strong enough to aid Sasuke to force his way in, considering Sasuke lost a considerable amount of chakra before." Ino's tears finally spilled over with her husband's words. Naruto's eyes locked onto Sakura's closed eyes, and he clenched his teeth tightly. Sunset was in less than an hour.

_**So you can see why I'm so interested in this, Kit.**_

_No. I don't. What do you really get out of this, Kyuubi?_

_**I can relate.**_

_Bullshit. You don't give a damn about humans. What's your motive?_

…_**Kit, sometimes things are better left unknown. Just accept the fact that I am going to help save your mate.**_

Naruto took a deep breath, running his finger over Sakura's hand and tracing the groove between her knuckles as he thought this all through. Sakura would lose control over her body permanently by sunset unless they did something. And in order to do so, Naruto would have to use the _Kyuubi's_ power to fight against Shouta. And the Uzumaki did not know if the demon was being truthful about his motive, but that did not matter.

"So what are we waiting for?" Naruto stood up, his hand still gently holding onto the sweetly sleeping woman. Naruto Uzumaki would never hold back from protecting those precious to him, especially his family.

* * *

"So are we playing the waiting game, then?" Sakura leaned against the bars, her eyes burning with anger. Shouta sat idly on a chair a few feet from the kunoichi, watching her with sparkling red eyes.

"Well," he said, "we can always watch a few home movies. I'm sure you have some that will tantalize my taste buds." He turned around slightly and flicked his hand. Sakura winced as a sharp pain stung in the middle of her head. In front of her were images and sounds that looked all too real and familiar to the kunoichi, almost as if—

"They are your memories, Sakura." Shouta confirmed the woman's suspicions as he passed through each memory. More images and sounds: Shissou training her when she was thirteen, reuniting with Naruto at fifteen, missions, fights and deaths…all of these flashing by so quickly that it was making Sakura's head spin. But finally Shouta paused on an all too vivid memory.

"Ahh…a very passionate night, no?" Shouta's eyes were shining with lust and satisfaction as he watched through the eyes of Sakura as she first made love with Naruto. Sakura tried to look away, but her eyes made their way back to the mental screen. Naruto's image was burned into her memory; every crevice on his body, every sweat drop, and every hair was perfectly shining. Sakura's heart pounded achingly. Would she ever see him again? What about Toru? He would lose his parents and his life—and he had only been on this earth for not even two weeks. Sakura felt the urge to cry, but she knew if she did, it would only bring satisfaction to this demon of a man. Suddenly Sakura felt a little tickle from the warmth of her left hand, along her knuckles. She looked down to her palm, her brows knitting together in confusion, but her stomach fluttered. This place was all too confusing.

"I guess it doesn't take much to make you purr, does it?" Shouta smiled and reached out to take hold of one of Sakura's pink tresses. The kunoichi snapped her teeth at him. Shouta yanked his sausage-like fingers away and curled his lips into a snarl.

"Hn. You won't be so feisty once that floor falls beneath you and you're pulled deep into the crevices of your mind for all eternity."

"… _we waiting for?"_ Naruto's voice echoed throughout the mental cave and prison of Sakura's mind. She and Shouta's faces contorted with confusion, but Sakura composed herself much more quickly. The kunoichi felt a buzzing in the back of her eyes and squinted. Her vision was going blurry and had a somewhat red tint around it—a broken blood vessel? Was she able to bleed in this mental manifestation of herself?

"…_hang on, Sakura-chan!"_

"_Shut up, dobe, and concentrate!"_

The redness spread across Sakura's vision, and the sting her in eyes intensified tenfold. Her green orbs began to water, but she dare not rub her face, unsure of what was going on with her body.

Then a flash of light blazed throughout the entire mental cavern, and a loud shriek tore from Shouta's lips. Sakura fell to the ground and threw her arms over her head, not knowing what to expect in such an unknown territory. Did anything go in this place?

"_NO!_" That was Shouta's voice. Sakura lifted her head to look at what had him so distressed. The kunoichi's heart leapt into her throat.

Naruto and Sasuke stood side by side, their backs facing Sakura's cell, a little over one foot away. Sakura's heart clenched at the sight of the orange clad shinobi. How did he and Sasuke get in here? Sakura reached through the thick bars and tugged on the hem of Naruto's jacket. The startled shinobi turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of the kunoichi.

"Sakura-chan!" His arms instantly found their way through the bars and wrapped tightly around the woman. Sakura pressed herself against him as close as she could through the metal, the shinobi's warmth an instant comfort to her shivering body. She didn't realize how scared she really was, how unsure that she might not see her family again. Sakura breathed deep and was glad that Naruto's smoky, masculine scent with that hint of ramen transcended the mental plane.

"_You._" An angry hiss emitted from Shouta as his eyes glared daggers towards the two men. Naruto released the kunoichi to face Shouta but took a firm hold of Sakura's hand. Sasuke was the first one to respond.

"Still quite the cocky idiot, aren't we?"

"You were the one who was fooled, weren't you?" Shouta was obviously furious that his plan had gone awry. Sakura could see Sasuke's shoulders tense slightly in annoyance, but he calmed his muscles. The pink haired woman's own muscles itched to beat Shouta within an inch of his life. But she couldn't find one faulty bar in the cell or even a lock. It seemed impossible to escape.

"You're really going to die this time, asshole." Sakura could feel Naruto's deep voice vibrate from his body.

"Well, so long as I hold you two off for the next ten minutes, it shouldn't be a problem. Then I can kill both of your psyches here myself." Shouta's eyes drifted behind Naruto to look into Sakura's green orbs. "Looks like you're useless once again, my pretty little kunoichi…" In the pit of Sakura's stomach, her anger blazed furiously, and around the four inhabitants, the green light that lit the cavern brightened intensely—almost to the point of blinding Sakura.

"_Tch_… simpleton." Shouta snapped his fingers, and the light dulled down. Sakura felt that familiar pang in the back of her head and crouched low to the ground in pain. Naruto knelt down instantly, his free hand running across Sakura's head as a look of worry wrinkled his face.

"Sakura-chan!"

"You're wasting your time, _jinchuuriki_. Say good-bye to your lover now, for you only have eight more minutes."

Naruto growled, releasing Sakura's hand as he turned to Shouta. "Shut the hell up, you fucking bastard!" Sakura looked through her pained eyes to see Naruto's red chakra leaking through him. No doubt that his blue eyes were turning into a dark shade of red right about now.

"You can't use your chakra here, _jinchurriki._ Not unless you're one of the _Mentalists_," said Shouta.

"So is that how you _Mentalists_ kept your hold? By telling lies?" Sasuke's voice was dripping with disgust.

"You are all _powerless_ in this plane. This is _my_ domain." Shouta's voice suddenly grew in volume and deepened its tone to a demonic state. "I can crush you in an instant, and I can trap you here like I trapped the kunoichi."

"_Wrong._" Sasuke's voice was sure and strong. "You said so yourself. This is _Sakura's _domain. Do you think my Sharingan cannot see into this place? Or let me hear what occurs within these pathetic fields you set up to block entries? You are the intruder in this place." The dark haired ninja turned to Sakura, his eyes sharpening as his words were directed toward her. "The only reason he has any power in here is because _you're _allowing him the strength. He might have put you in that cell, Sakura, but the only reason you remain in there is because you're being weak and insecure."

"Sasuke!" Naruto growled.

"**No**. She needs to stop whining about being weak. Did she train for several years just to be taken down by some maggot like this?" The Uchiha looked down on the pink haired woman and shook his head. "You really are the pathetic one if you can't take control of your own mind."

Sakura's eyes blazed with fury, and she clenched her fists around the iron bars. How _dare _he look down on her? After all that she had done for him! After all that he had done to her and to the village! Sakura's breathing quickened and her muscles tensed. Throughout her body, she felt a familiar buzzing in her veins. Was that her chakra?

_**This is your mind, woman. Take it back.**_ A deep voice boomed throughout the cavern, shaking Sakura's bones. _Who was that?!_

"_Kyuubi…_" Shouta's eyes widened in fear for a brief moment, but he drew a mask of calm over his face.

_The Kyuubi?_ Sakura's heart pounded. She was able to hear him in her mental plane. _Her_ mental plane… This place was in her body…Oh, _Kami…_Sasuke was right.

She had been in control all along.

"Naruto, move." Sakura knew that if she were to do this, she needed to have absolutely no doubts. In this place, it really was all about confidence. The blond shinobi looked to her warily.

"Sakura-chan…"

"Naruto..._move_." Sakura clenched her fists tighter, forcing that buzz in her veins to become a pounding force as she pushed it into her fists. Naruto moved to the side, and Sakura looked to Shouta, her green eyes shining.

"You do not belong here, Shouta." Sakura built the strength not only in her body but in her voice as well. "This is _my_ mind. So…" The kunoichi took a deep breath through her nostrils and coiled her muscles as she wrapped her fists around two of the thick iron bars. "GET THE HELL OUT!" She put all of her strength into her arms and hands as she yanked at the bars. They were tough, like she expected. But she needed to believe that they would give. She _knew_ they would give. Sakura focused her mind all into that thought. The bars had to break. They needed to break. They _would_ break.

And in one loud crack, the two massive rods snapped under the immense pressure. The kunoichi slid through the new opening easily, her hands holding onto the twelve foot long iron bars. She tossed one iron bar aside and gripped the other tightly. The look on Shouta's face was fucking priceless to the kunoichi. For once in her life, Sakura felt _powerful_.

_**Feels good, doesn't it?**_ The demon's voice echoed.

She smiled. "_HELL YEAH_!" Sakura jumped up into the air, spinning the iron bar in her hands and aiming it directly at the fearful Shouta. Sakura's adrenaline was pumping wildly. She would **not**miss.

And she didn't. Her iron weapon made contact directly with Shouta's shoulder blade, cutting through his arm like butter. Now _that_ she didn't expect. It might have been because of her mental power or whatever, but it was a great bonus. The man shrieked as the arm that was chopped off dissolved into nothingness. Shouta's eyes flickered in fury towards Sakura.

"I will _not_ lose to a whore like you!" Shouta rushed towards Sakura, but in a flash of black and orange, Naruto was in front of the kunoichi. The ninja rammed a fist into their enemy's face and sent him flying. Sakura grinned the moment Naruto turned to look at her. The blond man's chest was rising and falling quickly with his jagged breaths.

"I could've handled him myself, you know." Sakura couldn't wipe the smile of satisfaction from her face. Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know," he replied.

"So why won't you two finish him, then?" Sasuke walked up to the two. "You need to chop his body to pieces to make him completely disappear."

"You make it sound so easy, Sasuke," Sakura said.

"Well, it is, so long as you think so—" Sasuke's eyes flickered, and he growled. "Move!"

But it was too late. Sakura felt a thick hand clamp around her throat as she was sent flying back. She landed with a painful thud right back into the cell she had just escaped. Shouta's one hand gripped tightly around Sakura, pressing her into the ground of the prison cell. Sakura tried to think past the pain and air loss and think about victory, but the thought of death ransacked her mind.

"You _will _be imprisoned in here, kunoichi—even if I have to take you with me!" And below them, Sakura felt a strong vibration, almost like an earthquake taking place right beneath her. And to her right she heard the earth crack. The kunoichi's eyes widened and she shook her head, struggling against the vice-like grip of Shouta's. The crackling and rumbling sounds multiplied as the earth beneath them crumbled. Sakura did not want to die. She wanted to live. She was a strong kunoichi of Konoha, and there was no way in hell this guy was going to overpower her!

Sakura built all of her chakra into her legs and willed herself into this one thought. She had to visualize her action's course, or it would not happen. The kunoichi took a deep breath and shouted as she kicked Shouta off of her and hurled him directly into the iron bars. And just as the iron bar before sliced through him, so did these bars cut through his ligaments and torso. Shouta's eyes widened in shock and fear as the last of his remains dissolved into nothingness.

He was gone. _Forever_.

Then the earth beneath Sakura fell away. The woman screamed and reached out above her as she fell. She didn't want to die. She couldn't die. _She wouldn't!_

Sakura felt a warm hand clamp onto hers, and she swallowed a scream as her arm dislocated itself from the sudden pull. Another hand clamped around her elbow as she looked up to see Naruto using all of his strength to pull her up. There was no wall for Sakura to press her feet into to aid the shinobi in his attempt. It was as if the ground beneath them was hollow.

"Naruto—!"

"You're going to live, Sakura," he said in a raspy voice, "and you, Toru, and I are going to go to Ichiraku and are going to eat ramen as one happy family!" One of Naruto's hands slipped on her, and the both of them screamed. Sakura reached out her other hand to clasp onto the blond shinobi and Naruto took a stronger hold of her once more, his eyes tearing.

"We can get married, have more kids, or just have Toru—it doesn't matter! I'll always be with you so long as you live! You _will_ live, Sakura-chan!" The pink haired woman blinked away her tears in her pain and nodded fervently. Behind Naruto she saw Sasuke wrap his arms around him and pulled on the shinobi, donating his extra strength. Sakura slowly came up, and Naruto finally was able to grab her by the waist, and he hoisted her back onto the flat ground. Sakura collapsed onto Naruto as Sasuke backed away, all of their breaths jagged.

"You promise?" Sakura couldn't speak any more than that. The pain from the dislocated arm was blinding.

"Believe it." His chest rose up and down, rocking Sakura into a strange sleep. What would happen if she fell asleep in her own mind? But the pain from this dislocation was so much, her head was swimming. The kunoichi closed her eyes and was surrounded by darkness. The pain in her arm began to slowly dull.

"…_Sakura-chan_…" Naruto's voice was still strong and booming into her mind.

"_Sakura-chan…_" She just wanted to close her eyes for a moment. The pain in her arm was fading even more. She was so peaceful where she was right now.

"Sakura-chan!" _Kami, _could he just be quiet for a moment?

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura felt her anger twitch. This idiot was getting really annoying, and if he didn't shut it—

"Sakura-chan, _wake up_!"

"SHUT UP, _BAKA!" _Sakura snapped upright, her eyes flickering open into a blinding white light. She felt a strong tug behind her, and once her vision righted itself, she realized she was in a hospital room, surrounded with familiar faces. The tug was from her oxygen mask. The kunoichi pulled off the apparatus and took several breaths of the cold and sterile hospital air before she calmed down.

"Good job, Naruto. Your annoying voice really did snap her out of that coma." Kiba smiled happily with an arm around Hinata, who was currently in tears as she held onto her twin babies. She wasn't the only one who was crying. Ino was right next to Sakura and instantly wrapped her arms around the pink haired woman, uncontrollably blubbering.

"Billboard brow!! You're awake! You're alive! Thank _Kami!!!_" She sobbed into Sakura's shoulder, smearing body fluids into the hospital gown that Sakura wore. The kunoichi was in a daze. She had just been in her mental plane, and now here she was…in the hospital.

"Okay, okay, Nara. Back off my student. She needs to breathe." Beside Ino stood Tsunade-shissou, a look of relief in her brown eyes. Ino pulled away, and Shissou wrapped her arms around Sakura-despite her previous chiding towards Ino. The pink haired woman gasped lightly at the affectionate gesture of her sensei. As her shissou stepped away, Sakura finally took in all the people around her: Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Tsunade-shissou, and Naruto. Sakura looked to the orange clad shinobi and smiled weakly. She felt tired, though she had been asleep for a while.

A loud cry sounded from outside the room, and Sakura looked to the door to see Shizune carrying in a fussy Toru. Sakura's heart leapt as the Hokage's assistant handed the infant boy over to Naruto. The blond man smiled down to the boy and turned the baby towards Sakura. Toru stopped crying the moment he looked into his mother's eyes. He lifted his arms towards her, and Sakura reached out to him as well, her heart swelling. Naruto handed Toru over to Sakura, and the woman sighed happily. He was safe and so was Naruto. Shouta was dead…and her village was safe…_Kami, _her _family_ was safe. Sakura looked down to Toru, a complete likeness of his father save for his eyes…he was perfect.

"I love you," she said softly. A pair of big and clumsy arms wrapped around her.

"I love you too, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice was loud and happy as he rubbed his head into Sakura's good shoulder.

"I was talking to Toru, _baka_! And don't yell in the hospital!" Everyone around them laughed, releasing all the tension that had built in the room from waiting for the kunoichi to wake up and speak. Naruto adjusted himself onto the bed and had one arm wrapped around the pink haired woman's waist. Sakura and Naruto looked back down to Toru and saw him smile happily.

"Hn. Glad that's over." Sasuke moved over towards the three.

Sakura looked up to Sasuke and smiled. "Thank you." She truly meant it. He had done so much for her…

The dark haired ninja said nothing. But… it could have been a trick of the eye—Sakura might have just been insane off of the oxygen gas they provided for her…But she could've sworn she saw the slightest hint of red across the Uchiha's cheeks. It was impossible.

A sound interrupted Sakura's thoughts. The most beautiful and innocent sound she had ever heard before: Toru's laugh. She looked down to Toru to find him looking at Sasuke, laughing.

"Is that spawn of the dobe _laughing_ at me?"

"That's my boy!" Naruto laughed happily.

"He… just likes you, Sasuke." Sakura tried to cover up her own snort of laughter, but it was too much for her. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked down to Toru.

"Children are annoying…" And though he said it in a completely serious tone, Sakura could tell somewhere deep within the Uchiha that Toru just might have begun to crack the shell that had kept Sasuke isolated from the world for so long. Sakura smiled and looked down at her son. The little one smiled back and laughed even more. Ino moved over to get closer to Toru and began to coo over the baby. That was when Sakura heard Naruto yawn loudly.

"Can we go home now?" Naruto looked over to Tsunade-shissou, a look of eagerness in his eyes. Tsunade blazed with anger.

"Absolutely not! Sakura just woke up, and she needs to recover from having dislocated her arm! Her body can only take so much!"

Naruto saddened and looked from Toru to Sakura for a moment. Then, almost in a flash, a spark of mischief lit his eyes. He turned back to the Hokage and smiled wickedly. "You know, Tsunade-baa-chan, the sooner you sign Sakura's discharge papers, the sooner we can have our wedding ceremony. And that means you can drink as much as you want without Shizune _or _Sakura barking at you."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest. She didn't know that Naruto wanted to get married _right away_. But when she looked to Naruto and saw him lean in close to her to whisper with a softened look in his eyes, she melted.

"Will you marry me?" His breath was warm, and it tickled Sakura right down to her toes. And the kunoichi knew that there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this blond idiot. No matter how long it was, no matter how irritating, no matter what was thrown at them—or what she threw at Naruto, in some cases. They would face it like they faced everything else: together. Sakura looked to the other people in the room and knew they had heard—nothing could be hidden from shinobi at this distance. They all had expectant, shining eyes—except for the usual indifferent Uchiha gaze—and Sakura laughed. Her time to bloom had come. She took a deep breath and smiled widely, looking back to her blond love. A blush came over her cheeks as she found her words.

"Yes, _baka_…_yes,__I will._" She leaned in close to lightly brush her lips across Naruto's burning cheeks.

"Shizune, get me a pen." Sakura and Naruto looked over to the fifth Hokage as the older woman sighed. "Who the hell am I to pass up free liquor?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ahh, the final chapter of ****Let's Fall in Love****. I've been anticipating this moment of release. Now, this chapter is also quite mature; so kiddies, if you sneaked past through the last nine chapters- you are warned. There is a reason this is labeled M.**

**And obviously you should know by now that I do not own Naruto.**

**Enjoy the final chapter! It's been a great write!**

* * *

"Toru! Stay still—_**AACK**_!"

A loud splash sounded from inside Sakura Haruno's apartment, followed by the loud and lovable laughter of a certain four week old baby boy. Inside, the kunoichi-turned-mother was giving her son a long needed bath-especially since today was the day Sakura was supposed to go out with Ino to buy the pink haired woman's wedding gown. A cool chill of excitement ran down Sakura's spine at the thought of that one word: _wedding_. Sakura was getting _married_. The kunoichi could feel her face heat up with a deep blush as her thoughts trailed to the events that would commence within the next week. And then she would no longer be Sakura Haruno, but Sakura—

A loud rapping sounded on the door, followed by a very loud and very familiar voice.

"We don't need to knock, _teme_. I live here!"

"Well, _dobe_, some of us still retain basic manners."

Toru looked at Sakura with his big green eyes as his smile widened. He could recognize those two voices almost as well as his mother could. His mind was developing rapidly and could do things that surprised his parents beyond imagining.

Sakura grabbed a big fluffy towel and pulled Toru out from the small tub, wrapping him up before opening the door to her two teammates. There stood Naruto and Sasuke glaring at each other, just as usual. Sakura felt her infant son moving wildly in her arms at the sight of his father, and his loud squeal caught the feuding teammates' attention immediately. Naruto's blue eyes shined brightly as he looked towards his son and reached out a finger towards the boy. Toru instantly latched his tiny hand onto the Uzumaki's finger and giggled happily at the contact. Sasuke looked at Toru with his dark, emotionless eyes and looked on as Naruto started to take hold of his son.

"I thought Kakashi-sensei was supposed to baby-sit?" Sakura's eyes flickered between her fiancé and the Uchiha. The silver haired ninja was all too happy to look after Toru while Sakura was out with Ino in the downtown shopping district. "I mean, Naruto… aren't you supposed to be out choosing your suit?" Ino had given a very detailed list of requirements for the outfits: color of the ties, vests, jackets, and pants; their lengths, style, and accessories. She was adamant about no tails to the suits—otherwise those tails would not be the only thing to be cut off with her scissors. Shika was supposed to meet Naruto and his groomsmen at the tailors' shop not too far from where Sakura would be purchasing her own outfit.

Naruto flashed a toothy grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, well, Sakura-chan…we were on our way to Kakashi-sensei anyway, so he asked if we could bring him over to the Eastern fields."

Sakura's mind sparked. "Eastern fields?" Her eyes flickered in anger. "What are you planning to do there?" Though she damn well knew, the kunoichi was hoping that there was a sliver of a chance they were just going to watch some of the last of the summer bugs laze about the forest fields.

"Train, of course." Sasuke rolled his eyes, never having the patience for stupid questions.

"We were going to loosen up a bit before going to meet Shika…" Naruto held Toru a little bit higher than usual, as if to bring him into Sakura's line of sight more vividly. The damn idiot was using him as a shield! Sakura growled harshly.

"You are _not_ taking our four week old son to the training fields, _BAKA!_" Sakura's hands itched to clock that orange clad shinobi right on top of his thick skull—but not while Toru was here. Sakura was trying to minimize the amount of abuse she dealt to her blond idiot of a lover, though, he made it increasingly difficult every time he pulled a stunt like this.

Suddenly Sakura felt another presence behind the two men. The pink haired woman moved instinctively in front of Naruto and Toru, though it took only a second to find that her efforts were not needed.

"H-Hello, Sakura-chan. H-Hello, Sasuke-kun…N-Naruto-kun." Hinata Inuzuka's pale face darkened with a blush as the attention was focused all onto her. The violet haired woman opted to focus her own attention upon Toru and smiled warmly towards the blond baby boy. "Hello, Toru-kun."

Sakura sighed, her tension leaving her for the moment. "Hinata, I'm sorry, but I'm not ready yet. I was just telling these two that they cannot bring an infant boy to the training fields."

Hinata's eyes lifted in surprise. "Oh? Why not?"

Sakura's mind halted for a long pause. "Wh-why not? Hinata, are you _insane_?" The violet haired woman blushed a deeper red, but her eyes remained calm.

"W-well, Kiba is actually taking Ran and Hana to the Eastern training fields as well. Though they're only four months old, I know K-Kiba would never let anything happen to them. Besides, he wants them to get used to the world their parents are in. I d-d-don't think it's that insane."

"But…" Sakura never thought about it that way…but she still thought it was a terrible idea. "They could get hurt from some stray weapon or—"

"We're actually going to be focusing on low impact _taijutsu_." Sasuke's voice sounded impatient. He obviously wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Yeah, so no one comes to the wedding with stitches, broken bones, or whatever." Naruto laughed and kept his bright blue gaze locked onto Sakura. The kunoichi felt her heart flutter and her stomach flip in reaction to just this simple action. The blond man smiled and reached a hand out to Sakura, taking a firm grip of her hand. "Nothing will happen to him, Sakura. I promise."

The woman squeezed his hand in response and leaned in to lightly kiss the top of Toru's head. The golden haired boy cooed happily in return, flooding Sakura with comfort and reassurance of his safety. Of course Naruto wouldn't let anything happen to him. And as much as the medic-nin wanted to deny it, Hinata was right; trying to protect Toru from the shinobi world that he lived in was impossible and ridiculous. Though it still irked the kunoichi…

"W-We better get going, Sakura-chan. O-Otherwise Ino-chan might v-very well kill me."

Sakura nodded and gave Naruto's large warm hand one more squeeze before she turned around to change. But Naruto tugged on her hand gently, forcing the kunoichi to turn back and look into his deep blue eyes. Those magnificent blue orbs never ceased to send those sweet chills throughout her body. The couple said nothing, but Sakura knew nothing had to be spoken. Though Naruto was at times a complete idiot, he could read people all too well. And right now was no exception as a feeling of intimacy passed between the two. Sakura blushed slightly, her mind flickering to some immensely perverted thoughts that would've made Kakashi-sensei blush.

These past few weeks had been filled with tending to Toru and setting up the wedding—sucking the couple dry of any energy. And when night would fall, the Uzumaki and the Haruno would collapse onto the bed that lay ten feet and one wall from their infant's crib, only to awaken within hours to feed, change, or burp Toru. And somehow throughout the last weeks, Sakura found herself a lot more attentive to Naruto's touches and slight brushes across her skin. Even if it were something as simple as his hand grazing hers as the blond shinobi reached for a bottle of milk for Toru; the pink haired woman would feel a heat stir deep within her, a feeling she hadn't felt since the night they first made love. Only, with every passing day, that warm feeling seemed to be building up—like a volcano with pulsing magma stirring below, waiting to burst into the cold air and set fire to the land that lay all around.

"_Kami_, Sakura. You need to get laid big time."

Sakura shot up in her seat stock straight, her vision swimming in a blur between reality and fantasy. She was in the downtown shopping district of Konoha—specifically, one of the dress shops that specialized in wedding gowns. The kunoichi rubbed her eyes and groaned. How many shops had she been to…five? No, it felt more like eight. Every time Sakura would try on a dress, Ino's hawk-like eyes would show no mercy and her voice would bark with orders to bring out the other gowns in inventory. How many wedding dress stores could there be in a village such as Konoha? This had to be the last of them. Suddenly the woman's mind began to process her blonde friend's words.

"WHAT?!"

"I personally thought that you and Naruto would be fucking like rabbits after the Hokage-sama discharged you, but I suppose I was wrong. You look so sexually frustrated that it makes me want to cry." Ino pulled the pink haired woman up to a standing position as another dress was brought in to be fitted. Sakura instantly knew she would never wear something like that. The shoulder pads looked disgustingly...puffy- like two massive marshmallows were sewn to the sleeves. Sakura looked to the shop owner and shook her head politely before the older woman could take another step closer. The elder female nodded knowingly and scanned Sakura for one quick moment before she took off to look for another dress.

"Ino, you always say that to everyone." Sakura sat back down, leaning her head against the back of the chair in exhaustion. To Ino, no one was having enough sex.

"Well, for once…" Sakura looked to the side to see Tenten munching thoughtfully on some complementary sandwiches offered by the shop. "Ino is right. You look like a cat in heat, Sakura."

The woman blushed deeply and sat up straight in her chair once more. "Would you guys stop—!" There was no way she was sexually frustrated. Was there? Yes, she found herself thinking about things that would normally make her want to vomit or punch the nearest opposite gender for even contemplating such lewd thoughts—but she couldn't help herself! Every time Naruto would come out of the shower, wrapped in nothing but a towel—a towel she had previously used, her mind would darken with something so deliciously perverted that she would all but run out of the room. Naruto's golden skin would glisten with that after shower sheen, and his hair was tousled and so fragrant—it almost seemed as if he were teasing Sakura. Did Naruto have any idea of how he tormented the kunoichi with just the sight of his half-naked body? The ripples of his pectorals and the lean muscles that lined along his toned arms and legs made Sakura want to scream.

"But…" Sakura's mind suddenly flickered back towards the obvious block in her sexual fantasies and efforts. "I have to take care of Toru…"

"Psh! What bullshit are you spouting now, Sakura!" Ino stood pertly in front of the pink haired woman, her pale blue eyes scrutinizing. "Hinata and Kiba have _twins_, and I guarantee they find time to knock boots."

"_I-Ino-chan_!" Hinata's face darkened into a deep red, and she fiddled with her hands. "K-K-K-K-Kiba-kun and I…we-we-we wouldn't around—" Despite her protest, it was all too obvious that the Inuzuka sex life was a roaring flame compared to Sakura's ember of fantasies.

"So why don't you just put Toru to sleep tonight and have at it?" Ino sat down next to Sakura and wrapped her arm around the kunoichi's shoulders. "Sakura, I'm just a concerned friend. You look like you really need some stress relief, and let me tell you that there is no better release than having multiple, massive orgas—"

"Ino!" Sakura looked around the shop for the older woman. There was no sign of the owner, but better safe than sorry. The kunoichi sighed and looked to her friends.

"Look, it's not like I don't want to…but I'm not good at…_instigating_ something like that." Though she had the one to start their sexual encounter the first (and only) time, it was under the influence of that fruit Tama had given her. Sakura didn't know if she could muster up that same courage to tell Naruto she wanted to…to…

_Ugh._ She couldn't even think about the word.

"Well, maybe Naruto has the exact same problem." Tenten placed her sandwich down and stretched out lazily. Sakura never thought that Naruto would ever be the one to make the first move; it just didn't seem to be in his character. But she found that with every night, she vainly hoped that the Uzumaki would do _something_…_anything_ to cure this feeling that was driving Sakura wild.

"Miss?" Sakura's attention was gratefully drawn away from the topic by the same old shopkeeper she was looking out for. The old shop owner was standing in front of the group of women, holding out a soft, white silk gown. It was simple, with a short train and off the shoulder cut with very short sleeves that would let Sakura breathe in the unforgiving summer heat. The material looked light yet elegant. And there was a wonderful absence of puff and lace.

"Hmm…" Sakura heard Ino's voice thrum beside her. But the kunoichi took none of it into consideration.

"May I?" The pink haired woman reached out to the gown, and the shop keeper nodded happily. Sakura stripped down, no longer shy about showing some skin after the numerous shops she had been to, and slipped into the dress. It felt cool to the touch against her skin. The bodice fit like a glove; enough to show her curves, enough for her to breathe—especially with the off the shoulder cut allowing her shoulders to show. The skirt of the gown wasn't princess style, but more of a gentle summer dress where it flowed down her hips and legs like a waterfall, drifting behind her no more than a foot. The smooth white color complemented her light skin and bright eyes and hair.

It was perfect.

"Oh, _Sakura._"

The woman turned to look to her friends and found them all smiling warmly towards her. They apparently agreed with the gown just as much as Sakura did.

"Shall I wrap it up, then?" the old shop keeper said.

Sakura nodded and looked into the floor-length mirror once more, taking in the sight of herself in her wedding gown. Finally, she would have a happy ending.

_No…this isn't an ending. Not with that baka as a husband._

It was just the beginning.

* * *

"Okay, Kyou. This should be simple. Toru's things are all in the top cupboard, and he's just about ready for a long nap. If he gets fussy, which he rarely does, let him drink some broth from the ramen on the stove. That usually sedates him." Sakura looked to the nervous looking intern and inwardly sighed.

"Don't worry, Haruno-san." Fumiyo gently wrapped an arm around the nervous Kyou and smiled. "I'll be here to help him. You just go and enjoy your bachelorette party." Sakura had hired the two of them to watch over Toru while she was at the party. She decided to keep them in her apartment since Toru was familiar with the setting. But Sakura knew she had no real reason to worry _too_ much—Toru loved to meet new people and was never one to be too fussy. Sure he woke up at all hours of the night, but that was normal for any baby.

Sakura looked down at Toru and kissed the top of his golden forehead, taking in his scent: baby powder and ramen. It almost made her laugh at Toru's quick likening towards the food of choice. Though Sakura would only allow him to sip the broth from Naruto's meal every now and then, she knew the moment Toru could chew properly, he would become a fiend for ramen. Thankfully, the boy still did not have any teeth and wouldn't for a while.

"Well, I'll be seeing you soon, love." She whispered to the blond infant and kissed him one more time. As she handed the green eyed beauty to Fumiyo, Sakura felt a dull ache in her chest. She knew it was usual for new mothers to feel like that when they left their child alone—even for a short amount of time, but that did nothing to dull the pain.

"He'll be fine, Haruno-san." Fumiyo looked over to Kyou with a smile, and the young man nodded in turn. Sakura didn't know if the young intern meant her baby or Kyou…

"Enjoy your last night as a single lady, Haruno-san!" Fumiyo waved with a free arm as Sakura walked away. The pink haired woman nodded with half of a smile. _Kami_ knew what awaited her in the bar where her bachelorette party was being held. Knowing Ino and Tsunade-shissou, she was going to be swimming in alcohol and strippers.

_I wonder what Naruto is doing for his party?_

The kunoichi could just imagine the blond shinobi and his other male friends downing shot after shot of burning liquor. Naruto wasn't a big drinker, but when the occasion called for it, Sakura knew he would join the festivities. The pink haired woman didn't like drinking, but she wouldn't mind a shot or two tonight. Besides, this was technically her last night as a free woman—why couldn't she have fun? Sakura's thoughts began to wander to predictions of tonight's events as she made her way to Ino's place. Her friend was very firm about the kunoichi dressing the part for her party, and had ordered her to stop at her apartment before arriving at the bar.

Sakura took a deep breath as she stopped right at the blonde woman's doorstep. Before she could knock, the door swung open and Sakura was met with a loud squeal.

"Billboard brow!! Come in! You have great timing! I was going crazy trying to find that miniskirt and top I wore a few months back." Ino turned around and rushed back into her apartment. "Tenten, you brought the heels, right?!" the blonde called into the apartment and left Sakura standing dumbfounded at her doorstep. What the hell was that woman going on about? A miniskirt? Heels?

"Yeah, Ino! I have them right here!" Tenten popped out from the door to Ino's kitchen, twirling a pair of thin strapped black stilettos. Her brown eyes met Sakura's, and they glimmered in a smile.

"Hey, Sakura," she said as her eyes roamed over the pink haired woman's body, "Ino was right. Dressing you is definitely a priority." The brunette placed the three inch heels atop the living room table and walked over to the stunned kunoichi.

"Hinata! Did you bring the kit?"

"_H-Hai_!" The violet haired woman came into the living room, followed by a flustered Ino. Hinata placed a large caboodle next to Tenten's stilettos and walked over to greet Sakura in a hug. The pink haired woman returned the gesture, but her green eyes were focused on her blonde friend, who scuttled about the room, gathering odds and ends, bits and pieces—all of which ended up on the table with the other items.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura finally found her voice as she worked her legs into locomotion, forcing herself into the apartment. Ino looked up and smiled as she gestured to all of the items that were spread about the table.

"This, billboard brow, is your saving grace." Ino tugged on Sakura's long sleeved jacket and positioned her at the table. Almost immediately, the blonde began to remove Sakura's clothing. "We all agreed that our goal for tonight is to get you laid. And these are going to be your weapons of choice." Ino opened Hinata's caboodle to reveal a treasure trove of hair pins, brushes, a flat-iron, curlers, tubes of lipstick, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, blush, eye shadow, foundation, and pounds upon pounds of jewelry. Sakura looked over to the violet haired Inuzuka woman in complete awe. Hinata blushed and made her way over to her mound of cosmetics and jewelry.

"Being in such a family as the Hyuuga's, women were taught how to dress the part of royalty." Hinata smiled gently as she stepped behind Sakura and began to undo the woman's pink hair from its ponytail.

"Hinata is going to give you the accessories to look like a queen, and Tenten and I will give you the clothes to look like a vixen."

"But what about the party—?"

"You can get wasted come the wedding reception, Sakura." Ino continued stripping Sakura down. "Of course, you might need to have a few drinks in you if you want to do tonight's mission right." Ino and Tenten laughed loudly as Hinata's face darkened with a blush.

"Wh-what?" Sakura couldn't process this. They were WHAT?!

"Billboard brow, maybe I should say this one more time." Ino placed a gentle hand onto Sakura's shoulder and smiled wickedly. "We are going to turn you into a seductress tonight. Your only goal is to infiltrate Naruto's bachelor party, seduce the hell out of him, and finally…fuck his brains out."

"There should be absolutely no reason for you to go without sex when you're getting engaged—_even_ if you have a kid." Tenten's smile was just as devious as Ino's.

"They-they're right." Hinata's voice was small but firm. It must've taken so much courage for the woman to come here under such circumstances.

"So think of this as a wedding gift from the three of us." Ino finally peeled away the last of Sakura's clothing and handed the woman a pair of crimson lace panties; they had cherry blossoms sewn onto the sides. What was with her friend and designer panties?

"I-I-I-I…" Sakura didn't know what to say. Should she yell at them? She wanted to scream to the high heavens about how embarrassing it was to have your friends dress you up to seduce your fiancé into the sack. But somewhere, deep inside—she felt a kernel of excitement building up. She _never _thought about herself as the seductress, but just imagining the look on Naruto's face that night so long ago sent pleasant chills up and down her body. And to think that she would be inciting that look in him once more made her toes curl.

"Change, will you?" Tenten said impatiently. "We need to get you ready and then teach you the tricks of the trade." The brunette looked over to Ino and smiled devilishly. "Tricks that made even Neji howl like a wolf."

Sakura's heart pounded with a mixture of apprehension and fear. How exactly was she supposed to seduce Naruto?

* * *

"All right, Naruto, drink up, because this is your last night as a bachelor!" Chouji's voice rang throughout the tavern, where nearly the entire male ninja population of Konoha had gathered for Naruto's last day as a single man. The Uzumaki looked around at all the faces of the people that cared for him. He could feel his heart swell with pride and happiness. In just a matter of hours—okay, _several_ hours—Naruto would be standing in front of Tsunade-baa-chan as she conducted the ceremony that would tie the blond shinobi and the love of his life, Sakura Haruno, together…forever. He couldn't describe the amount of bliss he felt.

"Would you just drink already?" Kiba pounded the blond man's back painfully. Naruto laughed lightly and swallowed the liquor in one gulp. It seared his throat, but he felt his muscles loosen and his mind relax. He didn't usually drink, but tonight was a special occasion, and who was he to halt the celebration?

"Another round over here!" his sensei Kakashi called out. He loved his liquor.

Naruto looked around and wondered if Sakura's party was this insane. She never told him what they were doing, but from what he heard about Ino's bachelorette party, he was sure it would be no less festive. There would probably be even more liquor than they had going around in this place, with Tsunade-baa-chan supposedly dropping in on her only apprentice's party. That woman's body had to be flammable with all the booze she drank.

Suddenly some high pitched whistles rang throughout the bar. Naruto looked up to find a crowd of men circling around something or someone near the door to the tavern.

"What's going on?" Neji called out to the group.

"Apparently a female entered the rooster's nest." Sasuke sounded bored, but that was just his usual tone.

Naruto looked to the side to see Shikamaru downing a dark shot and Kiba returning the Uzumaki's gaze with a wolfish grin. Naruto cocked an eyebrow, completely confused towards the Inuzuka's reaction. The large crowd parted as whomever was in the center made their way towards the table where Naruto and his closer friends were seated. The Uzumaki adjusted himself as his pulse began to quicken. _A stripper?_ He had specifically told his buddies to not hire a dancer. He only had Sakura in his mind, and there was no way he could enjoy himself at this party if some dancer was grinding their body into Naruto's lower regions.

Finally the person in the center of the buzzing crowd came into view. Naruto's eyes were glued onto the floor, his stubborn self refusing to look at anyone other than Sakura. But as he looked down at what was most definitely a familiar woman's set of legs, his breath caught. Those smooth and creamy legs that went on for miles thanks to a pair of heels made Naruto's blue eyes move on their own. They trailed on up towards what was one of the most form fitting skirts he had ever seen—when she moved, it seemed to show the slightest hint of her panties. And _Kami_, those _hips_; they looked absolutely delicious. In the pit of Naruto's stomach, he felt a fire begin to blaze—one that he had been trying to squelch for over the past few weeks.

His gaze trailed up the woman's abs to rest on the sight of her full chest that was held together with some laced up leather top. And finally, when he looked in those big, beautiful green eyes, Naruto knew he was gone. He felt his bottom half quiver to life and _Kami_ help him, he would've taken her right then and there had there been no table between them. Sakura looked _sexy_. Holy shit, did she look sexy. Something about her eyes, her curled hair, and gleaming, luscious lips made not only Naruto but every other shinobi around her drool.

And something about those eyes looked different to the blond shinobi. The look was familiar, but he couldn't place it—his mind could barely form any thoughts except those that would get his skull cracked open by Sakura's powerful fist. She made her way over to him, her hips swaying in a seductive rhythm. And from behind him, Naruto felt his chair being pulled away from the table to give room for Sakura to stand directly in front of the stunned idiot. A smile curved her shining lips, and finally Naruto's mind conjured up the word that described the look Sakura was giving him right now. He had seen it so many times in people's eyes as he traveled all those years with Jiraiya-sensei, and he even was the recipient of a few of those looks.

_Lust._

Sakura's eyes darkened to a smoky green under the fluorescent light of the tavern as she moved her body closer and closer to Naruto. Music from somewhere in the room sparked to life as the men formed a circle around the couple. The blond shinobi felt his mind halt in thought and his pulse quicken when Sakura suddenly turned around and began to sway her hips inches from him. Naruto could feel heat radiate off of her body and the slight scent of flowers drift towards him. Sakura inched her curvaceous hips closer and closer to Naruto's lap, and the shinobi felt his throat go dry. His eyes were locked onto her well toned ass oscillating ever so sensuously.

The pink haired beauty hovered above Naruto's lap, teasing him with the slightest touches to his thighs. Whistles and leering eyes replicated throughout the room, but Naruto was too engrossed with what was in front of him. The kunoichi had finally lowered her hips onto the orange clad shinobi's lap and had moved her lower body in one deliciously tormenting circle. She brought her arms down and rested her hands onto his upper thighs, running their length up and down, driving Naruto crazy with the friction. He couldn't believe Sakura was giving him a lap dance in front of all these people, let alone at all. It was one of Naruto's wildest fantasies to have Sakura dance for him in something so scandalous. The only thing he would change was the atmosphere of all the people surrounding them and all the stealing glances of Sakura as she danced before them. Naruto didn't know what to do with himself as she built the pressure of her body against him.

The music changed into a harsher, more raw beat and suddenly Sakura changed her pace. The woman pulled herself up and turned around to face Naruto. She smiled seductively as she leaned forward, her cheeks slightly blushing as her breasts came into Naruto's direct line of sight. She shook her hips along to the jagged beat, and the shinobi watched, entranced as she closed the space between them to trace her fingers alongside Naruto's defined jaw line. She teasingly fluttered her lips across his dry mouth, laughing lightly along the way. Naruto caught the slightest scent of alcohol on her breath. He knew she would've never done this without some help of the loosening drink, but there was no denying—

She was _loving_ it, the little minx. And as she straightened her body, she softly grazed the edges of her breasts across Naruto's face. The heat within Naruto stirred dangerously with every shift of her body, every swing of her head, tossing her hair this way and that. Now that there wasn't anything obstructing his view or blocking his way, he would take her. _Kami_ help anyone who would get in his way. It had been far too long since he had the taste of her on his lips.

* * *

As Sakura raised her arms up and curled her fingers through her soft pink locks, she felt a strong and warm pair of arms wrap around her waist. She gasped lightly as she felt those pair of arms lift her up into the air and bring her eye to eye with Naruto. Her breath caught, and she felt that volcano within her boiling with anticipation. Naruto's eyes were hazy with what could only be arousal—the very same feeling Sakura had been tormented with all those weeks.

Naruto didn't even say one word as he took Sakura out of the bar, but they knew it didn't matter. Whistles and shrieks of laughter overpowered the music from the jukebox and poured out through the entrance of the tavern. Sakura kept her green eyes locked onto Naruto as he sped through the dark and empty streets, carrying her towards his apartment.

He slammed the door closed as quickly as he had opened it and plopped Sakura on her feet, leaving her only a second to catch her breath before he captured her lips. He was ravenous and hungry for her. Sakura returned the desire, nibbling on his lower lip teasingly. Naruto growled in approval and swirled his tongue between Sakura's lips, leaving a delicious taste of ramen and liquor in the kunoichi's mouth. Sakura moaned lightly as she felt Naruto's hands grip her waist tightly to lift her against the door and to press his body into more firmly. Sakura pulled her mouth away to suck in a cold breath of air, only to have Naruto draw her lips back to him a second later.

Naruto's hands roamed all over her body, leaving no curve or crevice untouched. His hot fingers played with the lacing of her leather bustier, and a low growl of annoyance emitted from his warm lips. Sakura pulled his hands back to her hips and unlaced the bodice for him, leaving the clothing on the floor. She sucked in a quick breath as her breasts came in contact with the cool apartment air. She moaned loudly as Naruto quickly dipped his head down to nibble on her left nipple while kneading her right breast. His mouth returned to Sakura's, and he was ravenous, sucking and nipping her, drawing the breath from Sakura's swollen lips. The pink haired woman felt that heat in her roaring, and she decided she couldn't wait. She tore at Naruto's jacket, throwing the black and orange cloth to the floor, not missing a beat as she worked on his pants next. Her fingers fumbled slightly with the zipper to his pants as Naruto teased her with his lips against her neck. Finally down to his boxers, Naruto took her to his room and tossed her onto the large, unmade bed.

Sakura was flooded with his scent and arched her back against the cool sheets as she felt the bed dip with Naruto's weight. She immediately felt a pair of rough but loving hands pull at her skirt, sliding the leather down her legs. Naruto tossed the skirt somewhere into the darkness of his room and ran his hand up the length of Sakura's left leg, sending a pleasant shiver throughout the kunoichi's body. He lowered his head, trailing light kisses all along her upper thighs, inching closer to Sakura's crimson panties and what lay beneath them. Sakura bit onto one of her fingers as Naruto flicked his tongue over her clothed mound. She arched her back against the bed and tried to press Naruto closer to her, but apparently the Uzumaki thought it was his turn to seduce and tease.

His calloused hands pressed her body back down to the bed, and she felt his warm breath against her thighs and through her panties. It was absolutely maddening. Naruto kissed alongside her sex while running his fingers ever so lightly under the lining of the lace underwear. Sakura whined a little, and a warm laughter vibrated against Sakura's thigh, and she almost lost it. Naruto hooked his thumbs under the hem of Sakura's panties and slid them off of her body.

Sakura screamed loudly in pleasure as Naruto pressed his hot mouth onto her mound and began to suck her swollen clit. His tongue flicked between her lips, and Sakura's legs turned into jelly. The volcano that rumbled within her was close to eruption and she knew her lover could sense it. Naruto sucked and nibbled on her clit with more vigor, and the moment his hands reached to massage her breasts, the kunoichi felt the volcano in her explode.

"Ahh!!! _Naruto_!" A blinding white light blurred her vision as her body burst with pleasure. But the Uzumaki didn't stop. He lifted her towards him, and in moments, his boxers were tossed aside; he was hard and ready. Sakura yelped as he plunged into her orifice and began to pump and thrust into her relentlessly. Sakura's vision had all but barely cleared when he brought the kunoichi over the edge once more. The pink haired woman bit her lip from moaning any louder than she already had, and Naruto leaned into her ear, a growl escaping his lips.

"Don't. I want to hear you moan my name." His hot breath against the nape of her neck alone was enough to make the kunoichi cry out in ecstasy. Sakura dug her nails into his well-toned back as he pounded into her, as she felt him graze against that one place that would make her come with a few more thrusts. He was close, Sakura could tell with his jagged pumps and breathing. Sakura rolled her hips around, adding more friction to the touch. Naruto grunted, and Sakura felt him ram right into that spot that made her explode once more in pleasure. The Uzumaki's member pulsed with release as Sakura's walls clenched around him. Naruto dipped down to capture Sakura's lips, and he swallowed her screams of satisfaction while muffling his own moans of pleasure.

It went on continuously like that until the light broke through the bedroom window. Hours of moaning, sweat, juices, and kisses all over each other's body. Sakura couldn't count how many times they had done it, but _Kami_ knew it wouldn't be the last time they were going to do it. The couple finally collapsed onto the bed into a deep sleep that was unfortunately interrupted a few hours later.

"Naruto?! Sakura! Open up, you two!!"

_Ino?_ Sakura's mind was swimming with the thoughts of Naruto and what he did to her all night and morning long. Where did he learn those kinds of moves? But then again, the blond shinobi was probably wondering the same thing about the pink haired woman and her sudden seductive dancing. Sakura's eyes inched around the room and landed on Naruto's alarm clock. Then all of a sudden, her mind cleared.

"SHIT!" She sat bolt upright and punched the sleeping lump next to her. The lump stirred awake, and Naruto sat up, rubbing his head, a painful expression contorting his face.

"What? What's wrong?" He groaned in his half-awake state. "Sakura-chan? What is it?"

"We're supposed to be getting _married_, _BAKA!_" Sakura jumped out of the bed and began running around, looking for her panties and other clothes. Where the hell did Naruto throw them?!

"Hm?" He rubbed the back of his head and yawned widely. "I know that, Sakura-chan. But that's not for several hours."

"No, _baka_! Try thirty minutes!!" _There they are!_ Sakura snatched up the dark red lace panties and pulled on one of Naruto's shirts. That would have to do for now. She needed to answer the door and calm the frantic Ino.

"WHAT?!" Naruto jumped up so quickly, he fell off of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. But Sakura was already out of the room and opening the front door before she could help the shinobi up.

"Finally, billboard—" Ino stopped in her tracks the moment she took in Sakura's state. The blonde's face contorted as she muffled a snort of laughter. Sakura's cheeks darkened in a deep blush, and she knew she should've pulled on some of the Uzumaki's pants as well. The blonde kunoichi clutched her side as she tried to stifle her guffaws and loud laughs, but it was useless. Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance and growled for the Nara woman to enter the apartment already.

"O-Okay, okay…I think I can breathe now." Ino looked back to Sakura as she took several steps into the dwelling and tripped slightly. The woman bent down and picked up what turned out to be the bustier Sakura borrowed the night before. Ino smiled brazenly and cocked an eyebrow towards the medic-nin. "Have fun?" Sakura snatched the leather top from her giggling friend, using all of her will power to not smack her upside the head.

"You're lucky you're pregnant, pig." Sakura took the change of clothes Ino had brought with her and immediately began to slip into them. They were simple training clothes, something she could run in back to Ino's apartment so she could shower and get ready for the ceremony.

"Shika's on his way over with the suit. Go say goodbye to your groom for now." Ino nodded to behind Sakura, and the pink haired woman turned around to find a half naked, bright eyed looking Naruto standing in the doorway to his bedroom. Sakura felt her skin tingle with attraction, but she quelled the feeling. Right now was not the time. She walked over to the Uzumaki, and his eyes sparkled with laughter as they caught her gaze.

"See you at the end of the aisle, Sakura-chan." He smiled his boyish grin, flashing his pearly white teeth. Sakura smiled back and kissed his cheek lightly before turning around to follow Ino out.

* * *

Tsunade stood in the center of the Western Park, atop a platform where she would finally be marrying Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. She had done so many of these ceremonies that it was a blur of dresses and booze in her head—but this time was different. Sakura was her daughter, not by blood, but when did blood ever matter? That stubborn kunoichi had grown into a fine young woman, and if Tsunade ever cried at these things, this would be the one where she would bawl to the high heavens. But she had to at least get past the vows, and once she got to the reception, a few glasses of sake would calm her down.

To Tsunade's side stood a _very _fidgety blond idiot, and to his left was Sasuke Uchiha. Apparently after all those years of trials and tribulations, they had remained friends. Team Seven, one of the strongest and most chaotic teams Tsunade had ever seen. Sakura had unknowingly been the glue that kept that team together, and those two men knew it. Even though the Hokage knew her apprentice thought herself the weakest link of the group, she was, in fact the most stable and strong. Though she did tend to cry a lot, her emotions were what helped Naruto and Sasuke pull through what normal humans would have fallen victim to.

And to think Tsunade was marrying two of the members of the greatest team in Konoha history...

It was just another moment to prove that even through all the pain and sadness, happiness and love could and would survive. There was always hope, and those two—no, _three_, were proof of that.

Tsunade straightened up once she heard the soft music sound as Sakura made her way down the aisle towards her teammates and her shissou. The Hokage knew that if she didn't pull herself together, she was going to cry. Sakura looked absolutely beautiful, and she reminded the Hokage of herself when she was Sakura's age all those years ago...those years when her own lover was still alive.

But now wasn't the time to think of love lost, but of newly found…newly discovered love.

Sakura and Naruto had one hell of a life ahead of them.

* * *

In a small patch of grass near the gates to the village of Konoha sat a large mound of rocks and two objects: a stone of amethyst and a sprig of thyme.

Sakura Haruno crouched in her flowing wedding gown as she placed a third object, a letter, on the small memorial to her fallen friend, Tama Nakamura. Sakura's green eyes shined with tears, but she just wouldn't cry.

Sakura's fingers gently ran over the green amulet that her dear friend had given her as she thought carefully about her words. "Thank you, Tama. You have done so much for me. And although your body is lying miles away, I will visit this small memorial every day for the rest of my life. I will tell my children of your wonderful and kind heart. And in them, you will live." Sakura took a deep breath, releasing her tension, and she stood as she sensed another presence approaching.

"Sasuke." Sakura didn't need to look to know that it was the Uchiha who stood behind her.

"You're missing your wedding reception. That's very selfish of you."

Sakura didn't feel like arguing right now, but she couldn't help the aggravated sigh that escaped her. "Well, I guess everyone deserves to have a selfish moment every now and then. It is supposed to be my day today, after all."

She heard the shinobi's soft footsteps sound beside her, and she watched as he bent down to place something atop the mound next to Sakura's letter; a bronze coin. The same coin Tama had given Sasuke that mission those months long ago. He still had it?

Sasuke stood back up and said nothing, but it was almost a comfort to Sakura. For if he had said anything, Sakura didn't know if she could respond…not without crying. They stood there for a long moment in silence until finally, they heard another set of steps sound from behind them.

"Sasuke? Sakura-chan?" Sakura turned to find Naruto holding a slumbering Toru in his arms. She couldn't blame the infant; it had been a long day. Sakura smiled sadly and walked over to her newlywed husband. The Uzumaki's eyes softened in knowing, and he opened his arm for Sakura to burrow in. The kunoichi gratefully found her way into his embrace and wrapped her arms around Naruto as she let her tears silently fall.

"She would be proud, Sakura-chan." Naruto's voice thrummed against the kunoichi, comforting her. Sakura took a deep breath and nodded, wiping away any evidence of her tear shed. She looked down to Toru to find him stirring awake. His green eyes blinked slowly open, and a smile instantly spread across his face at the sight of his mother. He giggled and cooed happily, reaching out to be held by her. Sakura immediately wrapped her arms around Toru and drew him in. The blond boy laughed and played with Sakura's thin veil as the kunoichi walked back over to the memorial mound where Sasuke stood quietly. Naruto followed and stood beside his wife, teammate, and friend. The Uzumaki looked over to Sasuke and smiled widely. The Uchiha stared at his teammate and then looked over to the giggling Toru, his eyes lingering on the infant for a long while. And then slowly…_slowly_… a corner of the side of his mouth drew up in the tiniest of smiles.

"_Annoying_…all of you are just…annoying."

**To be continued in:**

_Somewhere Between the Earth and the Sky_

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**See you then!**


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